Not a Good Guy
by Miss Pennyfeather
Summary: So basically a tiny alteration of the second season's premiere, The Return, in which Bonnie and Damon have a more...interesting scene together. Don't forget, reviews are love.   -Now with a fourth chapter and more!-
1. The Return

**It's that time of the year again! Yup, you guessed it. Vampire Diaries just premiered and while I loved the first episode and thought it was a vast improvement on the first season, I have to say I wished there had been more Bonnie/Damon scenes. (The existent ones were pretty great eitherway) So, I did my usual thing and wrote another little story on them, changing the events of the premiere, slightly. Just like I did with the season finale.**

**This time I tackled a much debated subject on the series; whether Damon should be a softie or not. Personally, I think he kicks ass the way he is. A rogue kind of anti-hero. A selfish and brave Clint Eastwood - personna. **

**So instead of talking to Elena at the end and killing her little brother, he instead runs into Bonnie at Elena's house.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Oh and don't forget to review!**

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Damon wasn't going to rush. He wanted this walk to last as much time as possible. He wanted an eternity to pass before he reached Elena's house. It would have been better if he never reached her house. Then he'd be spared of any kind of disappointment that might be added to tonight's list of miseries.

Katherine, the bitch, after all this time, could still get him to go on a drinking streak. She only had to say the magic words 'I love your brother' and he'd come undone.

Right now, he felt like everyone was throwing it in his face. As if the entire town belonged to Stefan and Stefan belonged to this town. And Damon was that obnoxious outsider, that unwelcome foreigner whose job was to wreak havoc and never come up to Stefan's standards.

Long ago, because it really felt like a long time, he couldn't have cared less about what he was to this town and these people. Suddenly, it irked him that he could never raise himself in their eyes, that he could never become someone redeemable in their eyes.

This was of course because of Elena. She was the one that believed in him and always encouraged him to be a better person. And when he was at his lowest and just wanted to damn it all, Elena was always there to remind him that he could do a whole lot better. That deep down he was a good guy.

He was growing tired of having to try so hard to play it nice and yet getting nothing in return.

To try so hard not to be himself and get crap for it.

Maybe that is why he wasn't meant to be a good person; because he expected something in return for his good deeds. Good people don't do that, right?

He was getting sick of himself and sick of her. He just wanted her to fucking tell him _why_ she believed in him all the time, _why_ she tried to care, _why_ she did everything she did.

He wanted answers and he wanted them now.

Katherine had given him a blow. Katherine had played with his feelings yet again. But him and her, they were old story. He knew why she did all this, he knew she had her reasons, he knew she was callous.

But Elena? What was her excuse to act like that? What was her reason for caring about him?

He wanted to end this nice guy act and ask her once and for all.

He stepped on her porch. The place where it had all begun. The ill-fated porch.

It reeked of bad memories, of him, of her, of them together, of Katherine.

This was the place of complete and utter disappointment.

Before he had time to knock or touch the knob, the door opened on its own.

Much to his surprise, the person standing at the door was none other than Bonnie.

She was wearing her wearied, 'oh it's you again' expression.

And for once, she actually looked relieved to see him.

'You look like you got hit by a bus. Repeatedly,' she told him, eyeing him up and down.

'Well, you look like a nosy witch,' he retorted.

'Lame comeback,' she answered.

'I don't have time for your PMS right now. Just let me in already.'

Bonnie pushed him back a little and checked the porch and the nearby area.

'Huh, you're alone.'

'Who were you expecting?'

'I felt something outside. Thought it was Katherine,' she said, crossing her arms.

'And you're here because...?' Damon asked.

'I didn't want to leave Elena alone tonight. Her completely psychotic twin is on the loose out there. I don't want to take any chances. I've already got one friend in the hospital.'

'Duly noted. But do you honestly think that your Harry Potter tricks can match Katherine's...womanly wrath?'

'Well, it's a lot more effective than kissing her, isn't it?' she retorted.

Damon glared at her with utmost annoyance.

'Who told you about that?'

'Yeah and my best friend is not Elena,' she replied, rolling her eyes. 'Is there something you want, Damon?'

'I came here to have my way with her, so if you don't mind...' he said pushing past her to get into the house.

'Wow, wow, easy there. Elena's sleeping. She's had a rough day. I'm going to let her rest.'

'Sleep can wait, I have important issues to discuss with her,' he said rolling his eyes.

'No, you and your issues can wait until tomorrow,' she muttered, pulling him away.

'Hey, I'm the reason blondie is still alive. And if I recall well and, correct me if I'm wrong, you were the one who were more than willing to let me give her my blood. So you don't get to treat me like that.'

'Hey, don't expect me to kiss your feet now. You would've done it whether I willed you or not,' Bonnie said, shrugging her shoulders frustrated.

Damon stopped mid-way and stared at her slightly taken aback.

'What is that supposed to mean?'

'It means you would've helped Caroline anyway cuz she means a lot to Elena and to this town. So you would've tried keeping her alive regardless,' Bonnie told him.

'Now who fed you those silly lies?'

'You can pretend all you want, but you know you would've done it either way.'

'Huh, funny, cuz today, at the mayor's funeral, you were pointing your little finger at me, telling me how I fooled everyone in town, but not you and that you can see what a big, bad monster I am,' he said, throwing himself on the couch in the living room.

'Yeah and I stand by my words, you _are _an annoying bastard,' she replied, arching her back.

'Can you see the contradiction here?'

'You're an annoying _human_ bastard. Even _you_ have your moments. But beyond that, you're a selfish jerk that follows his own interests. And yeah, you might try to play it nice because sometimes there's no other way to get what you want. But admit it, what you'd really want to do is screw common sense and just follow your instincts.'

Damon was lost for a moment in her dark, brown eyes. He hadn't realized the girl knew so much about him. How is it that she knew all these things so well? Was it some witch power of hers?

No, that was silly. She was just perceptive.

All this time when she had insulted him, he hadn't paid attention because it had been like all those other times when people chose to judge him superficially and lash out on him for the sake of lashing out.

But she actually had arguments, good ones, for her insults.

It was scary to think she was right. But she was.

He couldn't allow that. He sensed something behind her words.

'Sounds to me like you know what you're talking about. Experiencing similar issues perhaps?' he teased.

Bonnie raised a brow and smiled condescendingly almost.

'How did you guess?' she asked sarcastically.

'You're a decently powerful witch with newfound knowledge of yourself. I'm sure you'd like nothing better than to...screw common sense.'

'Most of the times I would. But see, I have self-control. I don't act on it, because I know it's stupid. You on the other hand...'

He glared at her.

'I have more self-control than you'll ever have. Trust me on that.'

'Oh, really? What about Katherine?'

'That's none of your damn business!' he shouted. He sat upright and placed his head in his hands, trying to erase the recent memories of her touches and kisses.

It was proving to be difficult.

He ran a hand through his hair, wishing he was anywhere but here, on Elena's couch, talking to Bonnie.

Bonnie's expression quickly changed. She became serious.

'You have no idea what it's like to feel this way...You have no idea what she's like,' he muttered angrily.

'I see she had a big impact on you,' she commented.

'That's putting it mildly. Katherine has a _special_ effect on everyone,' he said, almost sighing.

Bonnie coughed softly and walked over to his place.

'Well, if you know that, then you should be able to stay away from her and not get caught in whatever game she's playing.'

'Didn't you just say I usually follow my instincts?' he asked bitterly.

'Yeah, and the Damon I know would have the instinct not to risk his skin for a skirt. The selfish jerk would probably try to get something out of her without letting her get to him. He wouldn't be moping on a couch like a depressed teenager.'

Damon lifted his head and stared at her, utterly confused.

'Wait, you're saying you'd rather I was a jerk?'

She nodded her head, reluctantly.

'It's your way of dealing with things. I don't like it. I never will. I'll always try to stop you. But yeah, I'd rather you were a complete ass than a pathetic lover boy. Somehow I find that much easier to deal with right now. Right now when Katherine's on the loose.'

Damon felt a crazy need to laugh. Laugh really hard. Roll and the floor and laugh in hysteria.

Bonnie was probably the most misunderstood creature on the planet.

This girl was confusing as hell.

She actually wanted him to be the bad guy? To be his lousy, domineering, manipulating self?

And she claimed he was better that way?

He must have been dreaming. Or seeing things from too much drinking.

Bonnie Bennett actually wanted Damon to be himself.

The world was going mad.

A sudden surge of confidence filled his body. For a split-second, he felt he wouldn't need to talk to Elena after all.

Hadn't he said he was sick of her believing in him?

Well, now he had his cure.

He had Bonnie's consent to be a total ass. What more could he possibly need?

'So you don't believe I could be a better person? That I'm actually _good_ inside?' he asked in a sarcastic tone, thinking about Elena's words.

'Not really, no,' Bonnie replied, shrugging her shoulders.

And then Bonnie saw something spreading across his lips. It was his usual cynical smile.

'And you're okay with that?'

'You'd freak me out if you were actually decent,' she said, rolling her eyes. 'Now are we done here? I want to get some sleep too.'

He got up, walked towards her until he was mere inches away from her body.

'Have you been drinking?' she asked, wrinkling her nose.

'Had to get some booze in me if I wanted to face you,' he replied.

She rolled her eyes and smirked slightly.

'I'll let you know if Katherine shows up,' she mentioned, as if remembering something completely trivial.

He stared into her eyes again, letting the soft brown envelop him in a serene feeling of warmth.

'I'll probably be too drunk at that point. Plus, after our little _chat_, she won't dare show her face here.'

'Next time you have another _chat_, maybe you can actually stop her from running around and messing with people,' Bonnie replied, avoiding his eyes.

'Next time I catch her, the bitch will be burning on a stake,' he muttered, his fingers almost grazing the skin of her arm. He couldn't just ignore the fact that he had been hurt by his long lost love. He craved physical contact. Emotional contact.

'Now that I want to see. Save me a seat,' she said.

Her fingers accidentally met his when she touched her arm nervously.

At that exact moment, he pulled away from her, as if he remembered something very important and started walking towards the door.

'Tell Elena I called,' he said, opening the door.

Bonnie walked towards him, holding the door open while he climbed down the porch.

'You know I won't,' she replied.

He looked back at her, a small smile playing on his lips. He nodded his head, smirking.

She shut the door behind him, but not before giving him a last, playful smirk.

As Damon walked slowly towards his house, he began to realize that he now not only felt annoyance and envy towards Bonnie, but also an odd form of admiration.

He realized he respected her.

He felt more relieved now, strolling alone in the middle of the night, than he had felt in many weeks.

Bonnie Bennett of all people had been the one to let him breathe for a second.

And be the flawed, selfish bastard he always wanted to be.


	2. Brave New World

**Hey, guys, guess I'm back with yet another one of my alterations. I got this awesome idea from _Quizas. _She encouraged me to write more chapters on new episodes. So all credit goes to her!  
**

**Basically, I would be writing a new chapter for each new episode. I don't know if I'll be able to do it for every single ep, but I will give it my best. **

**But even if I won't do it to every episode,_ Brave New World_ needs a bit of cleaning up, in my humble opinion. **

**After watching the second episode and seeing Bonnie go medieval on Damon's ass, not only did I find that scene over the top and unrealistic, but I also thought it lacked any kind of dramatic effect. I mean I actually found it rather amusing, instead of heart-wrenching. I, for one, couldn't take it seriously. **

**I still love the show and I am not saying the writers didn't do a pretty good job, but I couldn't swallow that scene without suspending some belief. It was a bit (more) out of character. Or maybe I am picky. I don't know. Either way, I wrote my own take on it. So here's a different version to_ Brave New World_ which I hope you will enjoy.**

**My version starts with Elena and Bonnie talking during the Carnival. Since this is a follow-up to my first chapter, Damon hasn't tried killing Jeremy (yet), or tried kissing Elena, although he still has some pent-up feelings for her. This issue will be addressed in latter chapters, hopefully. **

**Also, Carter doesn't get in a fight with Tyler after being compelled (you'll see why), so Tyler still isn't sure about his uncle. He does find the stone at the end, just like in the episode so I am not changing that. In later chapters, I will most likely write about Tyler too, if I do get to write some new chapters :) **

**Anyways, sorry for the rant, had to explain some details :P  
**

**Thanks so much for your support and kind reviews everyone! You rock!  
**

**Please tell me whether I should continue this or if I should leave it to only two episodes. Complaints, comments, lemme hear them!

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**

The carnival was in full swing. And it couldn't be called anything but a huge success. Not only had the turnout been spectacular, but everyone was showering her with compliments, calling it the best Mystic Falls Carnival yet.

After all the hard work she and Elena had put into it, it would have been unfair to call it otherwise. She had been walking up and down the place the entire night, trying not only to keep everything in check, but at the same time trying to comfort Elena, who was herself a packet of nerves.

For her sake, Bonnie had managed to hide her own stress and worries and pretend everything was completely fine. She had even managed to laugh and act laid-back around her. She didn't want to burden Elena with her own frights, not after she had told Bonnie how she wanted this Carnival to be just a fun teen experience.

'...okay I can grab some from the science club, also we lost some speakers in the karaoke booth,' Elena was telling her, enumerating the list of problems they were currently dealing with, as they walked across the park.

Bonnie stopped and smiled patiently, rolling her eyes.

'Hey, it's all good Elena. Take a peek. Look around. This is a huge success!'

'You mean I can do _more_ than just wreak vampire havoc?' Elena asked, feigning shock.

'Go figure,' Bonnie replied in the same manner and they both giggled like normal high school girls that they weren't.

'Hey, uh, Carter, right? You're with the carnival?' Elena asked a good-looking black guy standing some feet away from them.

He raised his head and smiled warmly.

'That'd be me...'

'Oh, great,' Elena said, meaning to continue, but Carter's eyes found Bonnie and he couldn't help but gaze at her admiringly.

'Wow...what do you need beautiful?' he asked before he could help himself.

Bonnie started laughing nervously again, trying hard not too blush or make a fool of herself.

'Um...what do you know about karaoke speakers?' she asked playfully.

'Why don't you show me the problem?'

'Yeah, Bonnie, go show him the problem,' Elena urged her, smiling mischievously at them.

Well, Bonnie thought, she might as well have some fun herself after all that hard work. She deserved it. And who was she to refuse the tall, good-looking guy with the friendly, warm smile who had called her beautiful on top of that?

'Okay, come on then, let's see what you can do,' Bonnie said, throwing him a charming smile, as the guy laughed and followed her.

'So...care to tell me your name or should I just keep callin' you beautiful all night long?' he asked, raising a brow.

'As tempting as that sounds...my name is Bonnie,' she said extending her hand.

He quickly pulled it to his lips in a playful gesture.

'Nice to meet you, Bonnie. Let's head on to the karaoke speakers and maybe afterwards I can get you a drink.'

'I wouldn't mind actually, I really need one,' she said, grinning.

They arrived at the large tent with a ridiculous red sign hung above it that spelt 'Sing Your Heart Out'.

'See, there's only one speaker left. I have no idea how we lost two of them. Some dumb kids must've thought it was a really good joke. Do you know how we can get some?' she asked.

'Oh, I thought you wanted me to repair something. Well then, we can go to my van and see what supplies I have. I don't promise much, though,' he said laughing.

'That's alright, let's go see what you got,' she agreed nodding her head.

When they were in close proximity to the parking lot, however, a figure suddenly popped up in front of them.

'Whoa, can I help you?' Carter asked confused.

'Oh, yeah sure,' Damon said, smirking and eyeing him carefully. 'You can get out of here and come back in...' he said looking at his watch, 'ten hours.'

Carter blinked and nodded his head confused, staring into Damon's black orbs. He started walking away slowly, looking back at Bonnie with regret, but being unable to stop his body from going.

'Hey, what died in your morning cereals? That guy was helping me out!'

'No, that guy was trying to get into your pants. What, did you do, feed him a magic potion?' he mocked.

'Ha ha, you should go to the Stand up Comedy booth,' she replied, walking past him.

'Wow, wow, wow, not so fast,' he said pulling her back, 'seen Elena anywhere? I can't find her.'

'Maybe she's having fun with her _boyfriend _and doesn't want to deal with you right now,' Bonnie said crossing her arms.

'Okay, first off, the word fun and Stefan simply _cannot_ coexist in the same sentence. Second, I really need to talk to her. It's kind of urgent.'

'Wait, I know that look. Oh, no. You did something stupid, Damon. What did you do? Who did you harm this time?'

'Gee, I appreciate you giving me the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, though, it's not me who is going to harm someone.'

'What are you talking about?' Bonnie asked, frowning. 'Who is harming who?'

'It's a tad complicated...'

'Tell me!'

'We need to find Elena first. She'll want to know.'

'If it involves Elena, it involves me too. What happened?'

'Well...remember when you _so_ insisted that I should give Caroline my blood?' Damon said, tucking his hands awkwardly in his pockets.

'Uh, yeah...why? What happened to her? Is she okay? She's still in the hospital, isn't she?'

'Technically speaking she's still alive, but only technically.'

Bonnie opened her mouth in confusion, trying to make sense of what he was telling her, but just then, the both of them heard a bloodcurdling scream in the distance.

It was coming from Carter's van.

'Oh, shit!'

Both Damon and Bonnie rushed to the scene only to find poor Carter wobbling on the ground, bleeding from his neck screaming, while a slender blonde girl was licking her lips hungrily, wiping some of the blood from her hands on her jeans.

'Oh, my God, what the hell? Carter!' Bonnie yelled, rushing to Carter.

In an attempt to save himself from the vampire girl and being too frightened out of his wits to think of anything else, he clung to Bonnie, pulling her down with him desperately, covering her in blood.

'You again? Come back to manipulate me some more? Maybe feed on me like an _animal_? Because I will tear you into pieces if you touch me!' Caroline yelled hysterically at Damon, tears welling up in her dark eyes.

'Okay, take it easy blondie. Eeeeasy, okay?' Damon said softly, trying to get close to her. 'Look at me, look at me, just calm down and put those fangs back where they belong.'

'I can't make them go away! I can't stop! I'm hungry and I feel like shit, so don't you tell me what to do!'

She suddenly saw Bonnie standing nearby, covered in Carter's blood. Caroline let out a desperate shriek as she ran towards her.

'Bonnie, you have to understand! Please, this is not me! Please! Take away the blood, take it away!' she yelled as she grabbed Bonnie's arms roughly and reached for her neck.

Before Bonnie could react from the shock or Caroline act on her intentions, Damon jumped in front of her and pushed her ten feet away, causing her to fall down.

'You okay? Did she bite you?' he asked, looking her up and down.

'N-no...' Bonnie whispered, trembling. 'No! That can't be Caroline! What did she...How did she...'

'She's a mad baby vampire, as you can see,' Damon said, looking back at Caroline with disgust and pity. 'She's not herself.'

'No, she's not...' Bonnie said, choking on her words.

Her hands started shaking in rage as she clenched her fists. Her eyes were dark and wet. She wasn't going to cry, though. She had too much anger inside of her right now. She couldn't take it. Not Caroline. Not her. They had already taken Elena away from her.

Now, they had turned her last friend into a savage, helpless monster.

She didn't wait for Damon to realize what was happening.

_Smack!_

She punched him hard in the face, sending him flying into the van.

'Did you do this to her, you asshole!' she yelled at him.

Damon suddenly fell down on his knees as Bonnie's powers attacked him. He was subdued. He had no chance against this strong flow of pure rage.

The pain was barely smaller than standing in the sunlight with no ring on. He put his hands to his forehead in torment, hissing like a snake.

'Who the hell gave you the right? Answer me!' she kept yelling.

'I didn't do it, you idiot!' Damon muttered between his clenched teeth. He couldn't think straight anymore.

'Oh, don't give me that! You fed her your blood and then you went to finish your job! That's why you gave her the blood in the first place, didn't you? So you could turn her life into a fucking nightmare!'

'Even...y-you d-don't believe that! You know I didn't do it!'

'He didn't, Bonnie, it was Elena!' Caroline suddenly wailed getting up from her fallen state. She pulled some bloodied strands out of her face.

'I mean it looked like Elena, but she said her name was Katherine. She suffocated me,' she said, putting her hands over her eyes.

Bonnie opened her mouth in shock, registering the information quickly.

She let go of Damon.

He fell down on the ground, holding his head in a defensive way. He blinked several times, trying to make sense of the world around him. The horrible noise had vanished.

Next to him, Carter whimpered like a poor fool, trying to get away. Caroline was sobbing in the other corner.

The entire thing was a goddamn train wreck. It couldn't possibly get worse.

'Katherine? She did this to you? When?' Bonnie asked Caroline.

'Last night...she came in and she put a pillow over my head. She must have known I still had Damon's blood in me. Why would Elena do this to me? Why? Why would she want to _kill _me?' Caroline asked, staring at her bloody hands horrified.

'Caroline, it wasn't Elena. That I can assure you, I have seen Katherine myself. She's...she's a vampire,' Bonnie said, shuddering.

'You expect me to believe there's someone out there that looks exactly like Elena, sounds exactly like her, but isn't her?'

'I know it's hard to take in right now, but that's the truth,' Bonnie said. 'Katherine is a demented vampire.'

Damon was still lying on the ground where Bonnie couldn't see his face.

She walked over to him and knelt down, sighing.

'Okay, fine, I'm sorry, I thought _you _had done it. But it's still partly your fault! You still deserved that.'

Before she could realize what was happening, Damon had jumped up from his position and had pinned her against the van, holding her neck tightly.

'You do that trick again, you little witch and I swear, next time, I will crack your head in two,' Damon growled angrily.

Bonnie could barely breathe, much less focus on getting him off of her, or using any of her powers. She needed air, sweet fresh, air. He smelt like blood, whiskey and crushed mint. The smell was choking her, it was filling all of her senses. All she could breathe now was Damon. And it was bad, bad, bad.

Her hands scratched his, trying to release herself.

'Don't push my patience with your rabbit tricks. Because I will _not _hesitate,' he whispered in her ear, letting her go.

She almost fell on her knees, gasping for air, but she quickly grabbed the van door and pulled herself up. When she realized, though, that she had grabbed his arm instead of the van door, she pushed him away roughly, making sure one of her small, but sharp heels sank into his foot. He didn't even flinch as she walked away from him.

'Now, it's your turn,' Damon told Caroline, grinning.

'My turn for what?'

'Oh, don't worry, I won't choke you. That is far too ineffective and disgraceful, even for me. Nope, this beauty here will do the trick,' he said taking out a wooden stake.

'You want to kill me?'

'Well, it's not like I'm going to let you prance around Mystic Falls and tell everyone about us. Plus, you being a vampire totally ruins our reputation.'

'You, you have no right to do that!'

'Oh, but you see, just this morning I was made head of Council, so my job is to get rid of pesky vampires such as yourself,' he slowly explained to her, as if he was telling this to a five year old. Right now, Caroline really was a child. She had just been reborn.

'Please don't kill me! I don't want to harm anyone!'

'Oh, but don't you see? It's got nothing to do with what you want. You won't be able to help yourself.'

'But you! You can control it!'

'I really wouldn't give myself as a positive example, if I were you,' he said, chuckling.

He walked up to her and pulled her chin between his fingers, staring into her tear-stained, muddied eyes that pleaded mercy. She looked so desperate, so torn from everything she usually was, from everything she was used to, that she almost welcomed his soft and traitorous embrace.

In reality, Damon had nothing against her. She had no idea how much he pitied her and how he wanted to make it easier for her. He wanted to kill her quickly, so that she wouldn't even feel it and then lay her ashes in a nice grave and let her rest, for eternity. She would be remembered. She would be missed. But she would be pain-free.

Bonnie watched the entire scene almost in slow-motion. Panic flooded her.

She couldn't let this happen. She rushed over to Caroline in an attempt to save her.

She pulled the vampire girl away from Damon and stood in front of her, like a shield.

'Don't do it, Damon!'

'Step away, Bonnie,' he said, aiming the stake at her body.

'You'll have to go through me to kill her.'

'I will if you don't get out of the way. This is between me and her.'

'No it's not. It's between all of us.'

'Just let me do it!' he yelled. 'She is only a menace!'

'She is my friend, Damon! She is my friend!' Bonnie yelled back, keeping her ground.

Damon was still holding the stake in front of her. He paused for a moment, weakening his guard.

At the exact same moment, his brother Stefan showed up out of nowhere, with Elena running after him. Without a second thought, he snatched the stake away from Damon, taking advantage of his momentary hesitation.

Damon cursed under his breath.

'You are not going to kill her,' Stefan said, grabbing him lightly by the sleeve.

'Oh, my God! What were you trying to do, Damon?' Elena yelled, trembling all over.

'It's not what it looks like. Witches can't even be staked. They need to be burnt,' he said, glaring at Bonnie. 'I was just trying to get rid of Caroline.'

'Why? What's happening?' Elena asked, rushing over to Caroline. The girl pushed her away, screaming.

'Stay away, Elena! You can't see me like this!'

Her fangs were still uncovered and her face was a bloody mess, literally. Elena noticed Carter's body on the ground and the pool of blood.

Bonnie nodded her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

'It was Katherine. She told me Katherine killed her,' Bonnie managed to say.

Stefan groaned and ran a hand over his face.

'But why would she do this? Why would she turn Caroline?' Elena asked. 'Is it her plan to tormenting me?'

'No Elena, she's doing this to me,' Stefan said taking her hands. 'She's doing this to me.'

'Whoever is doing what to whomever, we can't waste anymore time. Caroline needs to die,' Damon interrupted.

'Katherine must have known it would come to this,' Bonnie said bitterly. 'She knew we'd have to choose between killing her and letting her live this life.'

'Okay we can all agree that Katherine is a selfish slut, can we move on and do what we have to do? The choice is obvious,' Damon replied impatiently.

'Stefan, please, no,' Elena pleaded him, staring into his eyes. 'Please no.'

Caroline was staring at them helplessly. She felt like a toy, like a play thing. She didn't feel any different from when she was Damon's little pet. Her life was at the mercy of vampires.

Bonnie tried soothing her by touching her shoulder briefly, but Caroline flinched and turned away.

'Please, there has to be another way,' Elena repeated, staring at Damon this time.

Damon sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

'You know what? Fine. Do whatever you want. But from this point on, she's your responsibility,' he said pointing at Elena, Stefan and last but not least, Bonnie.

'You'll take the hits, I won't be part of this,' he repeated. 'Oh and she will die, eventually. It's just a matter of time.'

'Let's hope it doesn't happen tonight,' Stefan muttered.

'Let's take her inside and clean her up,' Elena told him, taking Caroline's hand in hers.

Caroline wanted to pull away, but Elena held it tight.

'Please, Caroline, I'm just trying to help.'

'No! Why should I trust you with anything? You tried to kill me!'

'No, I swear I didn't do anything, it was Katherine! Caroline, you know it wasn't me. I would never do that to you! I care too much about you.'

'Then why did she look like you? And why...why did she do this?' she asked hoarsely.

Elena shushed her and pulled her in a tight hug, kissing the top of her head.

Something in Damon's tight jaw moved when he saw how affectionate Elena could be with Caroline, notwithstanding what she was. Just like Bonnie, when she had stood in front of him, protecting Caroline from his stake, defiantly. Both of them were more than ready to show compassion and forgiveness to the vampire girl. Not to him, though. It's not like he needed any of it.

Still, Caroline was lucky to have them.

Stefan followed Elena and Caroline inside the school.

Bonnie finally braved herself to look at Carter's bloodied body. He was lying still on the pavement, his eyes shut, his mouth half-open. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully, tucked in a blanket of red liquid.

Reading her mind, Damon went over to him and checked his pulse.

'He's still alive. But only barely. I don't suppose you want me to feed him my blood,' he commented, looking at her.

'After tonight, never. Your blood brings only bad luck.'

'Yeah, of course, because Caroline was _not _dying without me,' he said rolling his eyes. 'My blood helped her. It was Katherine who undid that help.'

'Well, I guess she got what she wanted. Now Caroline is dead to the world...'

'Not to you, though. I mean you were willing to risk your life for her.'

'Yeah, I do a lot of dumb things for her. I kind of love that girl. I don't know what to do now, though. I can't look her in the eye. I can't even be around her,' she said, hugging herself.

'If you _really _loved her, you would spare her the pain. Even Stefan knows I am right. She needs to die.'

'No! No one needs to die. I, of all people, should know. I...I tried killing all of you and look where it got me. Murder is never the solution. I know that now.'

'Don't beat yourself up. You just tried the easy way out,' Damon retorted cynically.

'Well, now I'm going to pick the humane way. I am not going to let her die,' Bonnie said firmly.

Damon straightened his back and smirked indifferently.

'Sure, tell yourself you're doing the ethical thing, that you're being selfless and noble. Picking the humane way! The _humane_ way is just a pretext for you to feel better about yourself and not feel too guilty. It's just plain cowardice.'

'I don't care if it's cowardice or not. I am only thinking of Caroline here, not myself.'

'That's right! You're only thinking of her. Not anyone else she could harm or kill.'

'I will take responsibility for anything she does. And so will Stefan and Elena. We will take care of her and make sure she doesn't do anything to herself or to anyone else. The important thing is that she doesn't have to go through this alone. She has _friends_.'

'Oh, please no more, my heart will melt,' he said, feigning distress.

'Promise me this, though,' Damon added, walking towards her. 'Promise me you will use your powers against her if it gets out of control. It's the least you could do. Because even if you don't want to see the truth, I see it as clear as day. You are just as much to blame as I am in all of this.'

'How dare...'

'After you just split my head in half with your witch voodoo I have every right to tell you anything I want. You should be grateful I didn't finish her off.'

Bonnie glared at him. She hated it when he was right. She hated it when she thought he was right. Damon was never right.

She sighed.

'Fine, I...promise I will take care of it,' she muttered.

'Great. I feel so much better now,' he replied sarcastically. 'Now what do we do about your boyfriend here?'

'He's not my...We should take him to the hospital right away,' Bonnie said, shaking her head.

Damon nodded. He picked Carter up, threw him in the van carelessly and got in the driver's seat.

Bonnie followed him and got in the passenger's seat reluctantly.

They drove away from the Carnival.

'I never thought this night would end this way,' Bonnie muttered, putting her seatbelt on.

'You mean finding yourself in a van with me and a dead body in the back? Eh, usual Friday night casualty for me,' he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and looked out the window at the fading lights of the Carnival they were leaving behind.

'I guess it's too much to ask for a normal night.'

'Okay...if you're going to sit there complaining, I'm going to turn on the radio,' he said.

'Shut up, Damon.'

'Oh, gee, that's alright Bonnie, thanks for the apology,' Damon mocked.

'I'm not sorry for what I did to you.'

'Fair enough. I'm not sorry for what I did to you either.'

'Good. I'm glad,' she retorted.

'So, are you and me finally even or what?'

'Not by a long shot,' she replied.

Damon shook his head amused.

'And you haven't even noticed that I took your precious advice,' Damon added, a small smirk plastered on his face, alluding to the other night, at Elena's house.

Bonnie stared back at him in shock, recognition dawning on her.

For a moment or two she was at a loss for words.

He was unbelievable.

But then, slowly, a small, involuntary, bitter smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

And she couldn't make it go away.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, while the chortled lyrics of _Fresh Blood_ by the Eels streamed out of the radio.

Carter's unconscious body was being tossed around in the back, but Damon and Bonnie were looking straight ahead.

* * *

_I'm so tired of the same old crud  
Sweet baby, I need fresh blood

* * *

_

**Okay, so I know I technically stole a song from the True Blood soundtrack and put it here (which is the epitome of irony), but the song fitted the scene really well, not only because of the comedic effect, but also because the lyrics have a pretty interesting meaning in this context. Damon needs fresh blood, as in he needs to start anew, away from Katherine and Elena. He needs fresh blood a.k.a Bonnie. :)**

**Also, fresh blood might also be a metaphor for new vampire (Caroline). Yeah, I think way too much about this show, I know. **

**Please review and don't be too harsh!**_  
_


	3. Bad Moon Rising

**And I am back with another punctual alteration/chapter! I promised I'd do something out of each episode and I did just that. **

**Let me tell you, _Bad Moon Rising_ was one hard motherfucker to write. I mean the episode was pretty good in my opinion. It had some cool action scenes, it even had me jumping from my seat from time to time. Even the whole vampire/werewolf lore was half decent. I also loved the scenes between Caroline and Stefan. (Oh my God, can they be any cuter? I don't know how they do it, but these two are spectacular together. They seem so real and so human, so familiar, so relatable. I feel it's the first time I'm connecting with Stefan. Their scenes added more depth to the series than all Stefan/Elena scenes together. And yeah, it would be very interesting if they got romantically involved, but I'd love to have them as friends. They make an excellent team. I just couldn't take my eyes away from them.)**

**However, I had little if any material to go with for Bonnie/Damon. Fret not, though, I still conquered the lack of source. In fact I made a huuuge thing out of some small details here and there. Read and see for yourselves:)**

**Now, just to keep everyone updated so that you don't reach the middle of the chapter wondering what's happening:  
**

**Things different in my story from the second season:**

**1. Damon didn't try to kiss Elena or kill Jeremy. **

**2. Elena isn't really upset with him (although by the end of this chapter she is a bit more...)**

**3. Bonnie didn't try to fry Damon like in episode 2. **

**4. Bonnie is a lot warmer to Caroline about the vampire issue. **

**5. Elena secretly not that much. **

**6. Any other alterations that derive from these which you will notice in the chapter.  
**

**Okay, so now that that's out of the way, I want to explain that this chapter is just scenes or alterations of scenes from the third episode. It's not the entire episode. That would've taken me a lot of time to write which I do not have right now... :( Even so, these scenes are about 10.000 words long so I did take it seriously. I just didn't tackle _every _single scene from this episode. But you'll fill in the blanks if you've watched the episode.**

**I added two new scenes with Caroline/Stefan and Tyler at one point. Three scenes with Damon and Bonnie. Two new scenes with Bonnie and Caroline. And so forth:) I've also changed some scenes to fit my story.  
**

**Okay...now that I'm less anxious...**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! really awesome of you guys! Appreciate it a lot! Thanks so much for the support! Thanks to all the amazing anonymous reviewers too for their kind words and suggestions. **

**Thanks for reading and tuning in every week, or something corny like that.:)**

**Anyhoo, hope you enjoy this chapter. I did kill many neurons over it. So I hope it's worth it. **

**Please tell me what you think!

* * *

  
**

The next morning, a reluctant Bonnie found herselfstanding on Caroline's porch. The sun was warming her back. It was a beautiful autumn day, it was also very warm. She knew Caroline wouldn't be caught dead outside. She also knew she could not even come and answer the door because the sunrays pierced through the window and made it impossible for her to get into the hallway.

Bonnie sighed and took out the secret spare key from under one of the planted pots on the sill. She stepped in quietly, shutting the door behind her.

She felt exhausted. She hadn't slept all night. She was moving like a sleep-walker.

The house was relatively quiet. She heard some shuffling in the kitchen as if someone was moving some crockery.

Caroline was sitting at the table, a plate full of omelettes and bacon in front of her. She was holding her fork in her right hand with determination. She stabbed a piece and brought it to her mouth. It smelt like a dead rat to her. But starving people had eaten dead rats before. And she was starving. So, she swallowed it, her eyes almost in tears.

Her hands were clenching the table, in an attempt to stop the nausea.

After ten seconds, she spat it out on a napkin.

'Damn it,' she muttered and pushed the plate away.

She put her hands over her face and started breathing in and out slowly in an attempt to block out the bad thoughts.

Bonnie's face crumbled at the sight of Caroline trying to eat like a normal person. Rage and sadness filled her every emotion. She wanted to punish someone for this. She wanted to punish herself. She wanted to take Caroline's struggles away and make them her own. She wanted to understand. She wanted to trust her again.

If she had just stayed with her at the hospital that night and not at the stupid carnival...

'Bonnie, what are you doing here?' Caroline asked frightened, getting up.

'Um, hi Caroline. I came to see how you were doing.'

'I'm having breakfast,' she said trying to smile. She failed bitterly.

'I can see that. Your mom still thinks you like bacon,' Bonnie said rolling her eyes. She walked up to Caroline and handed her a pouch full of blood.

'I took the liberty of bringing you something to eat from the hospital. I was there last night so...' she trailed off awkwardly.

Caroline took it and squeezed it tightly in her hand. She looked at Bonnie, her eyes shimmering with new tears.

'Bonnie...you...'

'I shouldn't be doing this, I know. Believe me, it took me an hour just to get here. I kept changing my mind. I thought I shouldn't give you this. But I knew you needed it. And it's much better for you to drink this blood than...any other blood.'

'But you'd rather I didn't need blood,' Caroline added. Bonnie nodded her head.

Suddenly, the blonde girl enveloped her in a tight hug.

Bonnie froze instantly, unsure of what to do at this point. Caroline buried her nose in her neck and sighed.

'I needed a hug,' she mumbled.

Bonnie awkwardly patted her on the back, but all the while making sure Caroline wasn't going to attack her neck.

'You're scared I'll... feed on you?' Caroline asked, pulling away. 'I can feel it. You...you shouldn't be scared. I'd never do that.'

Bonnie sighed.

'Yes you would, Car. It's just...you can't control it by yourself and even if you care about me and would never hurt me, when your instincts kick in you're an entirely different person and you attack whomever is in your way. I'm sorry but I can't trust you right now.'

'I wouldn't trust myself either, if I were you. But you have to give me a chance Bonnie. Stefan thinks I can control it. And with his help...'

'I don't know what to say, Caroline. I don't know what you expect me to say...'

'You stood up to Damon for me,' she mumbled, blushing. 'I haven't forgotten that. I am very grateful to you. I hope you know that... I'm relieved you don't think Damon was right.'

Bonnie turned away, hiding her eyes from Caroline. The new vampire could sense emotions quickly.

She felt confused, she felt like a traitor.

The horrible truth was that a part of what Damon had said had been true. Caroline was a danger to herself and others, whether she liked it or not. And it would've been better to have her...

_No!_ Bonnie shouted mentally. _No, no, no. Death isn't the solution. Death is never the solution. Caroline is my friend. I care about her. _

_Bonnie, _a voice in her head whispered. _You need to let her go. For your own sake and hers. She can't be helped. You can't do anything for her._

It was her grandmother. It was Emily's voice.

_N-no, grandma, I can't do that. I can't. Please, don't tell me that._

_Bonnie, she will harm those you love. She won't hesitate. She can't. It's in her nature. _

_**Emily**__, she is someone I love. Would you turn your back on someone you loved?_

_You don't have to make that sacrifice for her._

_Yes, I do. I...I share part of the blame, grandma. She's a vampire because of Katherine and Damon...and me. _

The voice didn't reply. But she felt a sharp pain in her throat.

She hated that she couldn't dump all the guilt on Damon and all vampires for that matter. She hated that she couldn't bring herself to turn away from Caroline. She hated that she felt the guiltiest of them all. She hated that she had to hide this inside of her and pretend that she knew better, when she actually didn't. She was scared. She needed someone's shoulder to cry on. She had too many feelings inside of her. She needed to let them out. She needed to breathe.

She had no one to turn to.

Not even her grandmother.

They were all against her, it seemed.

But Caroline was going through much worse, Bonnie realized. Much, much worse.

'I would never let him harm you. You know that, right? But that doesn't mean you've earned my trust,' Bonnie replied at length. 'I want proof that the old Caroline is still inside of you.'

'I'm going to try really hard, Bonnie. I...I promise you,' Caroline said, squeezing her hand tightly.

Suddenly there was a sharp knock on the door.

'Car? Are you in there?' Matt's voice echoed into the kitchen. Caroline's eyes widened in fear. She couldn't let Matt come in right now. Not when she was starving and holding a pouch of blood in her hands. Not when she couldn't even greet him because of the sun.

She pleaded Bonnie to keep quiet. Her face was filled with shame and misery.

'Come on, Car, we're going to be late. Tyler is expecting us,' Matt said.

Caroline shed a small tear as she stared at the sunrays in the hallway.

'Caroline?' he asked again.

She heard Matt taking out his cell phone as he walked away from the porch.

Caroline let out a deep breath and sat down, holding her head in her hands. Bonnie watched her beautiful sad, tortured face. She was like a broken porcelain. Her skin was so smooth and flawless but her eyes were so dark and hollow, like two empty sockets.

She knew what Caroline needed. Those eyes needed light.

She felt the ring in her pocket.

'Um, Bonnie...can you leave me alone for a while? I feel like being alone. If you don't mind,' she muttered, looking away.

Bonnie felt a little bit hurt, but she didn't let it show.

'I'll call you later...to see how you are doing,' she mumbled.

'Okay. I'll be able to get out after dusk. Maybe I can come and see you,' Caroline said.

Bonnie nodded her head. Caroline wanted to hug her again, but Bonnie just took her hands in hers and stared at her sternly.

'You need to feed.'

With that, she took the pouch and poured part of the blood on the cold breakfast. Her hands trembled. Every fibre of her being was protesting. She felt she would throw up, but she did it anyway.

'Try eating it now,' Bonnie said, hugging herself.

Caroline stared at her in utter shock.

'Well, go on, try it. I didn't do it for nothing,' Bonnie added, irritation finding its way into her voice.

Caroline obeyed and sat down. She took a bite from her food. It smelt much better now. Her senses were tingling. Her mouth watered. The blood was like sweet ambrosia.

She swallowed the bacon. And she didn't spit it out. She felt a nauseous feeling, but it went away after a while.

She smiled at Bonnie.

'Thanks...'

'It's just a way to keep in touch with your humanity,' Bonnie mumbled.

'Bonnie, I don't know how to...'

'I'll be leaving now. You said you wanted to be alone,' Bonnie said, pushing her hands in her pockets.

'Oh, yeah... I...I'm sorry I can't walk you to the door,' Caroline said pitifully. 'I really miss it. The sun, you know. And it's just been three days. But I don't want to depress myself right now so I won't think about it...'

Bonnie touched the ring again, nodding her head.

'I'll...see you tonight, Caroline.'

With that she left the house and decided to go see Stefan.

* * *

It was Damon who opened the door for her, unfortunately.

'I'm sorry, we've got a 'no witches' policy in this house,' he said, looking her up and down, leaning against the doorway.

'I'm sorry I really don't care,' she said, using the same tone as she pushed him aside.

'Did your grandma never teach you any manners?' he asked, walking beside her.

'With vampires? Yes, actually, she told me to always be polite and considerate when I'm about to kill one,' Bonnie said, smiling sweetly.

She noticed a travelling bag on the floor.

'So you finally wizened up and decided to leave town?'

'Gee Bonnie, please don't cry about it. I promise I'll send you postcards and pictures.'

'Thanks, but no thanks. I won't be missing your _invaluable_ presence.'

'Oh you say that now, but once I'm gone, you're going to lay awake at night, wondering what could have been, torturing yourself with unspoken regrets.'

'Are you sure you don't want _Elena_ to do all that?' Bonnie asked, rolling her eyes.

'You and Elena both? Sure, I'll take it. I'm not one to refuse that kind of offer,' he said, smirking.

'How come Stefan is letting you go just like that?'

'I'm not,' a voice was heard from the hallway. 'He's not leaving town.'

Stefan appeared in the doorway, arms folded over his chest.

Bonnie glared at Damon annoyed.

'Don't worry, we don't have to tell Stefan about our nefarious affair,' Damon teased her.

'You're such an ass. Where are you going anyway?'

'He's going to Duke University with Elena and Alaric. Isobel's research is there. We're hoping to find out more about Elena's connection to Katherine and...more on the Lockwoods,' Stefan told her.

'You're going to let Elena go with Damon?' Bonnie asked in disbelief.

'Is that the only part of the sentence you found meaningful?' Damon asked annoyed.

'I trust Alaric to keep Damon from doing anything stupid. And I trust Elena. I have to stay here though and take care of Caroline. I promised Elena, didn't I?'

'Um, you know he kissed Katherine thinking it was Elena right?' Bonnie asked, raising a brow.

'Okay, will you ever get over that? Cuz I have,' Damon replied rolling his eyes.

'No, you haven't. And Stefan knows you haven't. He can't be pleased with this.'

'Well, I'm not, but I don't have much of a choice,' Stefan replied.

'Well...I can take care of Caroline too,' Bonnie said, hesitating. 'In fact...'

She took out the ring from her pocket.

'I made this, for her. I...I'm not sure whether I should give it to her or not. I came here to ask your advice.'

Stefan smiled relieved.

'That's a very kind gesture Bonnie. It would mean the whole world to Caroline. It would help her a lot.'

'I hope so. I worked all night getting the spell right.'

'Kind gesture? You do realize you're encouraging Caroline to go out in the sunlight and splurge on some more high school boys?' Damon said.

'I do realize that. That's why I'm not sure what to do. If I give it to her, she might...she might lose herself.'

'But if you don't,' Stefan began, walking towards her, 'she will be forced to spend the rest of her days in darkness, away from the people she loves, away from humanity, sinking deeper into despair. If you don't give it to her, you leave her no choice but to turn to her animal instincts. She will gradually lose her human nature.'

'But if I give it to her the same thing may happen.'

'The difference is, Bonnie, that she will be able to control herself better. I will be able to help her. And there will be fewer chances of her hurting someone.'

'Fewer chances, not zero chances,' Damon added. 'My dorky brother is right though. She'd be more dangerous without it...'

Bonnie sighed and nodded her head.

'Fine, I'll give her the ring.'

'Caroline's going to be very happy,' Stefan said smiling. 'I'll come with you.'

'Bye, Damon. Hope you don't come back too soon,' Bonnie said leaving the house with Stefan.

'Likewise, Bennett,' he replied curtly, smiling at her.

Stefan paused before going out.

'Don't lose your head on the trip okay? And don't try anything funny with Elena. I'll know. And I'll break half your bones,' he said smiling as he patted Damon on the shoulder.

'You're telling _me_ not to lose my head? Maybe _you_ should watch it with Caroline.'

'What are you talking about?'

'I'm just saying, this protective big daddy side of yours might get you both into trouble. Bear in mind she's not Lexi.'

'Damon, I know what I'm doing.'

'Yeah, now I'm convinced.'

'I don't care if you don't believe it. Caroline needs me.'

'Or you just need a new vampire friend. How sad. Elena doesn't want your protection anymore, so naturally you turn to your new pet for attention.'

'Damon, you won't get into my head. Not today. I know your plan is to have Caroline dead. So don't pull any of your bullshit on me. It's not going to work.'

'My, my, big words from my little brother.'

'Elena will call and then you and Alaric will go pick her up and you're going to stay out of trouble and you're going to behave,' Stefan told him.

'What if _she_ doesn't behave?' Damon asked, playfully.

'The love of your life, Katherine, just told you she never loved you back. I get it. You're hurting. I sympathize, really I do. But if you think Elena will be your substitute, I'm afraid you're setting yourself up for even more disappointment. Because we both know what her answer will be.'

For a moment, Damon heard Katherine's words in his head again.

_It's always been Stefan..._

'Huh, you're saying Elena resembles Katherine?' Damon asked, hiding his bitterness.

'Katherine was just playing with you when she told you that. She loved neither of us. She couldn't bring herself to feel love. She was empty inside. But Elena, you and I both know, she loves me.'

'So sure of yourself, little brother. What makes you think she won't change her mind?' Damon asked angrily.

'I know she won't. I'm sure of it,' Stefan lied.

Truth be told, he did have some doubts. But he kept them to himself, blaming them on his jealousy. He trusted Elena with his life. He didn't want to ruin that.

* * *

Holding a trembling hand to her face, Caroline stepped out into the sunlight. She blinked several times.

Bonnie was holding one of her hands, Stefan the other. The ring was wound visibly on her middle finger.

She stared at it mystified.

'Amazing...'she whispered. She turned and stared straight at the sun.

She smiled as its warmth pierced her skin. She tried breathing in the fresh morning breeze. Unfortunately, she felt nothing. But she didn't let that get in the way of her newfound happiness. She started running across the street, feeling the wind in her hair. She jumped up and down like a crazy child on a sugar high.

'I can't believe it, I'm actually outside!' she said, turning towards Stefan, a large grin on her face.

Stefan smiled back fondly.

'It's good to have you back,' he said.

'Bonnie this is amazing! How did you do this?'

'I had some help from my grandmother and her books,' Bonnie replied, smiling sadly.

'You must've worked really hard, thank you so much!' she said pulling her into a strong hug. A little too strong. Bonnie felt one of her ribs cracking.

'Easy, easy, you must remember you're a lot stronger now...' Bonnie chuckled, massaging her back.

'Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to! But I really wanted to let you know...'

'It's ok. Look, I know you deserve to live your life. And you deserve to be human. So, this will hopefully make it easier.'

'I can't thank you enough. I owe you for life, Bonnie,' Caroline told her. 'If you ever need anything like if you need me to compel someone or...'

Stefan started laughing, amused.

'That's cute Caroline, but that's the last thing she wants,' Stefan said.

'He's right. I just want you to be your old self,' Bonnie said, trying hard not to show her sadness.

'Well, I guess we should go train, Caroline. No use wasting anymore time. We need to get you in shape,' Stefan said. 'Thanks for all the help Bonnie.'

'You're welcome... Caroline, please be careful. I'll be watching you. I'll know if you do something thoughtless. And I won't allow it.'

'I promise, Bonnie, I won't.'

'She'll be alright with me,' Stefan assured her.

Bonnie glanced at him unsure. Stefan was a kind, reliable person, she knew that, but he was also a vampire and just a couple of months ago he had gone through his own spiral of destruction. Again, against his will.

She couldn't exactly feel safe leaving Caroline with him.

But Caroline needed a _real_ friend. Someone like her, to take her through the rough times and the good times. And she couldn't do that.

* * *

When Bonnie arrived at the hospital later to check on Carter, she was surprised to see Damon walking out of his ward with a satisfied expression on his face.

She walked up to him, worry etched across her face.

'What are you doing here? I thought you were leaving,' she told him sternly.

'So eager to watch me go. Is it the view from behind?'

Bonnie made a face and he smirked.

'I had some unfinished business to attend to,' he explained to her.

'Damon, I swear to God, if you did anything to him...' she began.

'Before you make any more threats that you can't follow up, maybe you'd like to know I went in there to wipe his memory.'

'Oh...' she said awkwardly. 'I see...'

'Yeah, I didn't think I needed your permission. He's all good now. I told him he got bitten by a rabid dog.'

'Good enough. I'm going to go see him now. Take your time on that trip, will you? And try finding something useful about the Lockwoods,' she told him sweetly, walking past him.

'Hang on, no thank you for my selfless gesture?'

'Not really since you needed to wipe his memory anyway. You wouldn't want him to spill your secret, would you?'

'Okay, fine, be an ungrateful little bitch for all I care. He's your load now,' he said, walking away.

Bonnie stared back at him in shock.

'What did you just call me?' she yelled after him.

'You heard me Bennett!'

And then he was gone.

She sighed and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Damon always had that special gift of making her go crazy.

She entered the ward quietly. Carter was sleeping peacefully under the blankets.

She sat down next to him. He opened his eyes slowly. He stared at her drowsily.

He blinked several times, trying to identify her. There was a beautiful young woman sitting by his side, but he had no recollection of ever having met her.

Bonnie took his hand.

'Hey...I hope you don't mind I came by. The doctors say you're going to heal soon,' she told him smiling.

Carter smiled confused and drew his hand away.

'I'm sorry...but do I know you?' he asked.

Bonnie stared at him surprised.

'It's Bonnie, you remember me, don't you? From the carnival?'

He furrowed his brows, trying to remember.

'No...sorry, I would've remembered someone like you,' he said helplessly.

Bonnie groaned and got up.

Damon had made sure to wipe his memories of her too.

'That son of a bitch...' she whispered.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alaric was driving Damon and Elena to Duke. They were all sitting in an awkward silence, one more engrossed in their thoughts than the other. Elena was thinking about Caroline and Katherine, Damon was thinking about Elena and Katherine and Alaric was thinking about Jenna. They hadn't had a particularly warm goodbye. He really wanted their relationship to work. But somehow he felt that it would never be fine as long as Jenna had no idea what was going on in town. He felt he belonged to a different world now, filled with supernatural creatures and powers beyond his comprehension. He couldn't go back to being his old, ignorant self.

Damon, bored out of his wits, turned towards Elena.

'How are we doing back there? Comfy?'

'I'm okay. Why the question?'

'Well, you've been inordinately quiet.'

'Yeah well, I was thinking. You know, Damon, some people do that. I'm just worried about what we'll discover when we get there.'

'Good or bad, it will still be of use to us,' Alaric commented. 'Have some faith Elena.'

'Yeah, Elena, have some faith,' Damon said smirking.

Elena shook her head and smiled slightly.

'Um, I heard Bonnie made a ring for Caroline. Stefan told me. I'm glad she did it. I was going to tell her myself,' she said.

'You know Bonnie, self-righteousness is written all over her face. Now she thinks she's a saint cuz she offered a vampire the gift of light,' Damon commented.

'Well, it's a pretty _big_ gift, Damon. And it was probably really hard for her to do it. Not just magically, but emotionally. She wasn't all too happy about what happened. I'm just relieved she's taking it so well.'

'Well, you know, when two do-gooders like Bonnie and Stefan have a _project_, they get right to work. People always like to validate themselves through other people. Kinda pathetic, don't you think?'

'I'm sorry, what's pathetic about helping someone?'

'It's pathetic when they do it just to feel better about themselves. At least I have the guts to admit I'm doing that.'

'That doesn't make you a better person. And yeah, helping Caroline might make them happy. Because it's a _normal_ reaction.'

'I didn't say happy. I just said they'd feel better. They could still live with themselves,' Damon reiterated.

'That applies to everyone Damon. We help people because we care, but also because we indirectly need to. But the important thing is to care.'

'Care is overrated,' Damon snorted. 'Most of the times, caring doesn't do the job. But when you have a vested interest, you're more than willing to finish what you've started.'

Elena sighed and turned towards the window. She didn't want to have an argument with a person who couldn't grasp basic concepts.

'By the way, why didn't _you_ go see Caroline? You keep going on and on about how Bonnie is affected, but I didn't see you rushing to her side,' Damon added.

'I went to see her last night with Stefan,' Elena defended herself.

'Yeah, okay, but you didn't go alone, did you?'

'I called her this morning...' she mumbled.

'My guess is you're the one that's not ready to face her. I wonder why...'

'It's normal to be wary, Damon,' Alaric interrupted. 'It's a normal reaction. But Elena cares a lot about Caroline.'

'See? He thinks you're wary too,' Damon said smirking.

'That's not what I...' Alaric began.

'Yeah, yeah, keep driving sour-puss,' Damon cut him off. 'Or keep fantasising about Jenna. Either way...'

'What? What are you...'

'Oh, come on. It's obvious you want to get in her pants. I don't blame you, pal...'

Elena kicked Damon's leg.

'Elena, that's not true,' Alaric told her. 'Your aunt is a great woman and...'

'Relax, I know you two like each other. The whole town knows. You did attend Miss Mystic Falls together,' Elena said smiling.

'Oh... I...'

'You're the last one to find out, as usual,' Damon finished for him.

* * *

Caroline sat down next to Stefan on the fallen log and felt the tiny, dead creature inside her palms. A small, white rabbit, all fluffy and innocent. It was warm and lifeless. Much like she felt. She felt warm now, because she was outside, but she still felt lifeless, like a cold shell on the inside.

After a much needed lecture about hunting, Stefan had promised to her they'd go to Tyler's party. But first, he told her she had to feed herself and learn how to procure food.

'Okay. Find a good spot now. Pick the tummy or the neck,' Stefan instructed her.

'I can't do it...it's a small rabbit...who probably has a family of kids and maybe a wife and he's just so cute...' she blabbered.

'Caroline, we've been over this already. Are you hungry?'

'A little. A little bit more maybe.'

'I know it's a harmless animal but would you rather do this to a human being? It's a sacrifice you're going to have to make, for the sake of those you love. It's not such a big loss for rabbits. It would be a loss for humanity, though.'

Caroline sighed and smiled bitterly.

'Could you...pull my hair back? It always gets stained with blood. And I don't want Matt to see me like that,' she mumbled.

Stefan obeyed and touched her soft, silky hair, taking it in his hands and raising it towards her nape as she sank her teeth into the rabbit.

Stefan felt something odd in his stomach as he watched Caroline feed on the poor creature. He hadn't felt this in a while. Then again, he hadn't seen a vampire feed in a long time. Not a female vampire anyway. It was always arousing to other vampires to see a vampire feeding. Although all his urges were calmly restrained inside of him, he couldn't help but feel the shadow of that feeling clenching his insides like a vice.

The vein at her nape pulsed hungrily. He touched it lightly with his fingers. He stopped and let go of her hair when she was done.

He handed her some tissues to clean herself up.

'Thanks, Stefan. Sorry you have to see me like this. I mean, it's not enough that my neurotic personality has doubled in intensity, now you have to see me covered in blood, like some wild animal.'

'Don't beat yourself up. You look fine.'

'Do you think Matt will notice something new about my looks?'

'Well, I doubt it. Your eyes are darker than usual and your skin is whiter, but other than that...' he trailed off, scanning her face.

'You know, I always knew there was something up with you. You just looked way too handsome to be human,' she told him, chuckling.

He laughed.

'Did you really mean when you said you were a goody-two-shoes?' she asked.

'When did I ever say that?'

'Well, you know, some minutes ago you told me you could always feel what the other person was going through and you felt compelled to help them. Is that true, or were you just making it up to make me feel better?'

'Even if I made it up, it would be proof that it's true since I'd do it to make you feel better.'

Caroline laughed.

'But it's actually true. I've always been the compulsive helper. I always care, even when I don't have to.'

'And yet you haven't gone completely insane. Sorry, but my head would explode from that much selflessness. Don't you get tired of caring?'

'Sometimes. But only sometimes. That's when I try to help the most, just to get rid of the guilt.'

'Are you doing that now?'

'I have no guilt to get rid of, Caroline. I'm not tired of helping you. Trust me on that.'

'But you'll tell me when you're tired of helping me?'

'That will never happen,' he said smiling.

She squinted her eye at him in doubt.

'Pinkie promise?' she said, lifting her small finger.

'Pinkie promise,' he agreed laughing.

'Well, we'd better get on with our training,' he said getting up.

'Hey, Stefan?'

'Yeah?'

'You're a good person,' she said, getting up as well and patting him on the shoulder.

'Same goes for you,' he returned the compliment. But a shadow crossed Caroline's face as if she wasn't sure that was actually true.

* * *

'Just pull the damn arrow out, Elena. I can't reach it. It _hurts_,' Damon muttered, waiting for her to yank it out.

When he got hold of that pesky assistant, he'd rip her head off and play ball with it. He'd also kill Alaric for bringing them into a death trap.

He wasn't one for big, heroic gestures, but taking an arrow for Elena had felt good. Because now she owed him yet _again_.

At length, Elena managed to extricate the sharp weapon from his back.

'There, all done,' she mumbled.

'Do I get a thank you kiss for my valiant effort?' he asked, eyeing her seductively. She hit him in the head with a large book.

'Always a bore, Elena. Okay, where's that dumbass bitch? She has a death wish with my name on it.'

'You are not going to kill her,' Elena said, stepping in front of him.

'Oh, I think I will. I'll even let you watch.'

'Damon, no. We're here to work,' she complained.

'You do the work, I'll slit her throat,' he said smirking.

'I won't speak to you anymore if you do it,' she warned him.

'Since when do you think that has any control over me?'

'Since you kissed Katherine, thinking it was me,' Elena replied, folding her hands. 'You obviously care.'

Damon didn't expect this. He never thought she'd bring it up in such a context.

'Harsh words Elena, harsh words.'

'I am only telling the truth. You know that.'

'I know you're trying to manipulate me with your friendship just because I took an arrow for you.'

'And I'd do it again if it prevented you from killing someone.'

He sighed. He was unwillingly reminded of Bonnie's words. She had told him one night that Elena was his one weakness.

Suddenly the door opened and Alaric appeared, holding Vanessa by her arm. She was shaking all over, clearly frightened about what she had done. Her eyes still betrayed the shock she was under.

'Look, I'm really sorry I did this to you guys, but I thought you were Katherine Pierce and I thought you were Damon Salvatore and that would have been impossible because one of you died...'

'I _am_ Damon Salvatore,' he said menacingly. 'And I'd be extra nice to me, if I were you.'

'And I'm not Katherine,' Elena said tiredly. 'My mother was your teacher, Isobel. I'm a descendent of Katherine Pierce. I'm her...doppelganger. We've come here for some answers regarding her research. It would be very helpful...for us and our town. Please. We need all the info you've got on Mystic Falls.'

'They're telling the truth, trust me,' Alaric told her soothingly. 'Even the jackass in the leather jacket.'

Damon frowned, but Alaric ignored him.

'So please, do it for my mom's sake at least...' Elena insisted.

Vanessa sighed and nodded her head.

* * *

'He sounded worried. As if something was wrong. I could tell,' Elena told herself after shutting her phone.

'You think? You just informed your _vampire_ boyfriend that werewolves are not only very real and dangerous, but also that their favourite prey are vampires and their bite is lethal. I wouldn't expect him to take this lightly,' Damon commented.

'Maybe I should call him again.'

'Or maybe...we could go home and actually deal with it, if there's anything to deal with.'

'Do you think something might be wrong?'

'Well, it _is _a full moon tonight, coincidentally.'

'Damn it! I'd forgotten that. I guess we'd better go soon. And we haven't even gotten anything new out of these books. It's just information we already know,' Elena said, putting the books back in the file, coughing from the moats of dust surrounding her.

'I almost feel like it's been a waste of time,' she mumbled. 'I mean we found out about the werewolves, but Katherine still remains a mystery.'

Damon rolled his eyes and pulled out a book from his sleeve.

'Before you burst into tears, I think you might wanna take a look at this one.'

'Petrova?' she asked, scanning the old, leather-bound book.

'Yep. Funny name right? See, Katherine was originally European. And this was her real name._ Katarina Petrova_.'

'And you know this how?'

'Saw it on an old family heirloom, back in the good day. See, guys can scoop too,' he said, smirking.

'And you couldn't have told me earlier?'

'What, earlier when you hit me with a book? Plus, it was far too entertaining watching you hunched over those old books. Besides, I was curious to see if you could find anything new. I haven't checked the old records in a long time.'

'So, you decided to torture me and waste my time with your stupid little games?' she asked annoyed, grabbing the book.

'You're very welcome, Elena. Let me know what you find out. I'll be very interested to know,' he told her, smiling in his most charming way.

They started walking towards the car, Elena browsing through the old, yellow, moth-eaten pages of the book.

Damon opened the car door for her but stopped her from getting in.

'_What_ Damon?'

'Why did you bring up Katherine and the kiss?' he asked, no trace of mockery perceivable in his voice.

'You always say you don't care and you make a big show about how you're selfish and cold-blooded. So, the kiss proved you do care and that you are actually vulnerable,' she answered.

'So...you no longer thing I'm a cold bastard? You think I'm a hurt soul?' he said, rolling his eyes.

'I don't think you're either. I think you're a coward, because you always hide what you think or feel. You do that because you're scared, because admitting that would mean you'd have to take responsibility. It's so much easier to pretend you don't care, just so you could get away with some things. Problem is, it only makes you look weaker.'

'I'm a coward! Really? That's your logical deduction? I have saved you countless times from many pesky dangers, might I add, and I've already clearly shown you how I feel. The real coward here Elena, if we're on that topic, the real liar, is you. And you know I am right. You are projecting, telling me what my problem is when it's actually yours. Let me ask you something, why were you so surprised that I thought you'd kiss me back?'

'Damon, don't do this right now...' Elena said, sighing. 'You know the answer to that.'

'Yes. You have feelings for me. Maybe not strong, maybe not the kind you share with my idiot brother, but you do have them. You've been stringing me along all this time. And you do it unconsciously. You know why? Because deep down, you feel something,' he said pointing at her heart.

'Damon, you're wrong,' she countered, small clouds of sadness gathering in her eyes, 'I do care for you but not in that way. You and I, we could never be anything else but friends. And even that can get difficult with you. I'm sorry if you feel I've been leading you on, but I haven't. You've chosen to see something that wasn't there. And I get that you've harboured all those feelings for Katherine for the past 150 years, but just like you, all my life, I'm going to harbour those feelings for Stefan. Don't you understand?'

Damon felt like someone had slapped him hard over the face. The sting of it hurt his very core. He couldn't move. He was rooted to that spot. The only way he could mask his misery was for him to stare fixedly at one point on the horizon, ignoring Elena's calm, sad face and her burning, brown eyes.

It had been one thing for cold-hearted Katherine to tell him Stefan was her real love, but to hear it repeated over and over again by Elena, it was too much. And whenever that happened, he usually did something stupid. Like neglect his usual policy of keeping things inside and letting things burst out, damaging himself and others.

'Oh, I understand. I understand very well. You know, you and Katherine aren't all that different, now that I think about it,' he began maliciously. 'You keep preaching to me how it's important to care, but do _you_ care at all? You act like a selfish brat most of the time, indifferent to anyone else's problems, but your own. Caroline is a vampire now. How are you going to deal with that? Hm? Oh, wait, you aren't. Instead of being at her side, you avoid her and only think how hard it must be for _you_ that she's changed. And then you uphold Bonnie as a saint for doing what should come naturally to you. Notice a trend here? See, you only care when it affects you directly. You didn't care before that I was tormenting myself over Katherine. You only started to care when it involved you. So don't you dare compare your feelings for Stefan to my feelings for Katherine. Because if you had met me before Stefan, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now.'

Damon punctuated his last sentence by slamming her into the car and punching the car door.

Elena was trying hard to fight back the tears that were threatening to fall. But she wouldn't let him have that satisfaction.

'You actually think that I chose Stefan because I met him first? You're a first-class idiot, Damon. I picked him because he is a kind, generous, loving person. He is selfless and considerate. He doesn't treat me like I'm some favourite play toy. Like the way you treated Caroline, if we're on that subject. If I had met you first, I wouldn't have hesitated. I would've picked Stefan.'

Damon's facial expression softened under her words, until it was completely morose. Elena felt a touch of guilt in her heart, so she added, gentler:

'And even if Stefan wasn't even in the picture, Damon, there still wouldn't be an us. After all you've done and all you've said, you think you could redeem yourself just like that? You'd have to change 360 degrees for me to consider you in a different light.'

After a long and tense silence, in which neither said absolutely nothing, but only stared at each other resentfully, Damon finally spoke.

'Just get in the car. We're leaving.'

Damon managed to restrain himself during the drive. He was very pissed. So pissed in fact that he wouldn't have minded breaking Alaric's neck and taking control over the car.

Once or twice he felt the urge to go for his neck, but he controlled himself. Alaric had no blame in any of this.

Elena and Katherine, they were the harpies in this picture. Beautiful, gentle, mesmerising harpies...

He clenched his fists and waited patiently for the ride to be over so he could go on a rampage hunt and kill something. Or at least take his anger out on someone.

_You'd have to change 360 degrees..._

After all he had done, it still wasn't enough. After all that, he was still the bad guy.

Deep down, however, he knew all too well what she had meant. And he also knew that her angry speech hadn't told only lies. Part of what she had said had borne some truths.

And the truth was, it was hard for him to change. It was hard for him to just erase all that had happened and start anew. It was double hard to change in a way that would make Elena happy. It would require some inhumane effort on his part. And he already had the requisite inhumanity.

For a split-second, only a split-second, he actually considered what it would be like to do that, to change entirely for one person.

Damon was a bad person. He knew that better than anyone. But maybe he could be a bad person with a good heart.

This one simple thought that he was so vulnerable, that he could never change entirely, but that he'd be willing to tear himself apart trying it, all of this made him inexplicably angry. It made him hate himself and the world.

* * *

'Is he gone? Is he gone Stefan?' Caroline whispered frightened, sobbing into Stefan's arms. Her face was covered in tears, saliva and blood. She had never felt worse. That horrible beast had gone straight for her neck, but at the last minute, Stefan had pushed him away and saved her, risking his own life in the process.

He was holding her tight, trying to allay her fears, all the time staring intently at Tyler who was standing some feet away, still and quiet as a statue.

'Yes, I believe he is. Tyler got rid of him, somehow,' he replied.

Tyler was too shocked to even react at this point. He felt he was staring at the whole scene from someone else's body, not his. He was having the surreal experience one has when one perceives things as out-of-body experiences.

He felt light like a feather. He felt like he could run, jump, fly and do anything he had ever imagined. He felt invincible. As strong as a god. The fearless leader of the pack.

But at the same time, he could smell the fear on him, cascading down his back like a waterfall. He could smell the frightening truth . He could see the blank dread in his eyes.

Every corner, every shade, every howl, every gust of wind brought on a new fright, a new sensation of utmost despair and lust.

Lust? He didn't know how to describe it.

It felt like he was in front of a gorgeous woman, a daemon. He knew he shouldn't give into it, but the temptation was too big.

He just wanted to join the werewolf.

Caroline's loud sobs woke him up from his trance.

'Is she alright?' he asked hoarsely.

'She will be,' Stefan said, getting up and helping her gain her balance again.

'Did you get bitten?'

'I'm still alive, aren't I?' Stefan joked wearily, even though he knew Tyler wouldn't be able to understand.

'How did you make the werewolf listen to you?' Caroline suddenly asked, staring at Tyler questioningly.

Tyler opened his mouth in surprise at the word _werewolf_. It had never felt this real before.

Before, it was just something allegorical, a metaphor, something vague and abstract, something mystical.

Now he was hearing it for the very first time, loud and clear. Not as a half-whispered word, not as a lie.

'He listened to him because that was his cousin,' Stefan told her. 'Isn't that right, Tyler?'

Tyler knew this to be true. He didn't know how he knew. He just knew. It all made sense. The crypt, the chains, the scratches...

He turned his back on them and started running back towards his uncle's car, ignoring the loud calls from Caroline and Stefan.

'Shouldn't we follow him?' Caroline asked fretfully.

'No...He has to sort things out on his own,' Stefan said, driving a hand through his hair. 'At least we know one thing for sure. Uncle Mason is big trouble.'

'You mean the guy you were giving your serious vampire look at?' she asked.

Stefan shook his head and smiled.

'How can you think of humour at a time like this?'

'Sorry, I just can't be serious like you. I mean sheesh, a giant wolf just attacked me. I still can't take it seriously. Especially since the wolf might be a guy from our town. It's too crazy for me, okay?' she blabbered hysterically.

Stefan sighed and hugged her quietly.

'It's okay. I understand. We'd better find Matt though. He might be in danger still.'

* * *

Damon walked into the local bar with one sole base intention; to procure himself an easy victim for one night. He had no other plans for the moment. No other necessity. Just simple carnal desintegration.

He thought he had spotted a pretty brunette at one of the tables in the back that would make an excellent hors d'oeuvre for him, but when he was just about to approach her, someone tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

'I see you got back sooner than expected.'

He groaned. He knew that voice. The incessant sound of her irritating voice. Like chalk on a black board.

'Yes, Bonnie, here's a golden star for your sharp observation,' he told her briskly, walking away from her.

'Any luck on Katherine or the Lockwoods? I'd be very interested to know,' she continued, ignoring his desire to be alone.

'Why don't you mind your own damn business for once?'

'I am doing that. This is my business,' she replied sternly, not moving away.

'Unfortunately for you, I don't feel like sharing right now.'

'Really? And here I was just thinking you were extra cheerful tonight,' she replied sarcastically. 'Something went wrong obviously. You're super pissed. So either you found something potentially harmful or...'

'Or?' he asked defiantly.

'Or Elena stepped on your toes,' she finished.

Damon was getting really tired of her bold attitude. It's like she didn't even care that he was not just angry but potentially dangerous right now and that he was barely containing himself.

'I'm guessing it's both. So you'd be better off telling me.'

'Or I could ignore your pointless nagging and go prey on some innocent bystander. That's my subtle way of telling you to go screw yourself.'

'Very subtle indeed. You don't mean the brunette in the back, do you? Because I'm here with her. We came for drinks,' Bonnie told him nonchalantly, crossing her arms.

Damon noticed the back door exit into the alley and he dragged Bonnie towards it.

He shut the door behind him and stepped out into the chilly night.

'You had to drag me all the way here to tell me what happened?' she asked annoyed.

He suddenly pinned her against the wall. Without touching her, simply holding both his hands at the sides of her head.

Bonnie had no real reason to use her powers on him yet, because he wasn't even touching her. And she actually wanted to know what he had discovered.

She stood up to him, staring right back into his smug face, not even flinching or trembling, though it was cold outside now.

'What's the deal with you? You just get a sick thrill out of pissing me off?'

'I'm not the reason you're angry, Damon. But hey, you have to take it out on someone, I guess. You're just _that_ pathetic.'

He paused and looked down for a moment before he brought his eyes back to hers.

'The Lockwoods are a bunch of mad, fucked up werewolves. Is that what you wanted to know?'

'Werewolves? Like real werewolves?' she asked surprised.

'Why? You know about them?'

'My grandma told me a thing or two about them. Vaguely though. I can barely remember. All I know is that they're vicious. Especially when it comes to vampires.'

'So you're telling me Emily knew about them? And you knew _vaguely_ but you didn't even bother telling anyone?'

'I knew just as much as you did, you dumbass,' she told him defiantly, sticking her fingers in his chest accusatorily. 'Think I wouldn't have told Elena?'

'Yes, Bonnie, I actually think you'd be a traitorous little bitch and keep it to yourself. Like you did with the Gilbert device, remember?' he told her angrily.

'Call me bitch one more time and you'll be vampire soup,' she told him, her eyes glaring at him.

'Don't deny it, you know deep down you're just a...' but he suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Something had arrested his attention.

He furrowed his brows for a moment, looking at her face with something akin to curiosity.

It's like he had seen something there, like he knew something about her, something that was slipping his grasp. It was confusing.

What was it?

It was right under his nose.

Then that _something _dawned on him.

_You'd have to change 360 degrees..._

He straightened up instantly.

'You like it, don't you? When I'm a total jackass to you. You relish in it.'

She opened her mouth in shock.

'What are you...'

'You hate it when I go soft on you, don't you?' he asked again.

She stared at him confused.

'Cuz you see, everything makes so much sense right now,' he continued languidly. 'I mean, you jump my neck and act completely mental when I do something remotely nice or decent for you. But when I treat you like you really deserve, when I act like a prick, you turn around and react. You actually enjoy it.'

She meant to contradict him, but he shook his head and chuckled.

'So your little advice about being my manipulative, bastard self, it wasn't about me being myself to the _world_, it was about me being myself with _you_. Because you don't know how to deal with my 'good' side. Because you'd hate having to deal with it. You said it yourself, remember? You'd rather have me like this. Cuz then if I was the good guy, you'd feel guilty. You'd feel like you've wronged me. And we can't have that, can we?'

Bonnie shook her head.

'Are you delusional? Or just stupid? I'm the one who's trying to take you down, I'm the one who knows what you really are! Why would I want you to be a psychotic jerk with _anyone_?'

'But that's just the thing, you don't want me to be a psychotic evil jerk with anyone else. You just want me to be like that with you. As long as I don't touch your precious town, I can be the biggest dick in the world. You, for some sick righteous reason, prefer that. You like it.'

'So, by your judgement, I'm so proud that I actually want you to stay a jackass instead of changing because then I'd be wrong?'

'You said it better than me.'

'I'm not you Damon. I would never risk anyone's safety just so I could have my way.'

'Then why do you do what you do?'

'I don't...'

'Why do you like me as a cold, evil bastard? What is your reason, if not this one?'

Bonnie stared at him perplexed. For once, she was at a loss for words.

She usually had a smart, sharp line for everything. Now she was contemplating the situation in perfect silence. She could hear the sounds coming from the bar. They were playing a song she knew.

Damon waited for her to answer. But he was waiting in vain.

She couldn't answer. She couldn't even fully fathom the question. Everything was so twisted in her head right now.

The question and the answer were the same in her mind. Cold panic enveloped her entire body.

'I have to go,' she said and pushed past him quickly, pulling the door and stepping inside.

She walked out of the bar briskly, not even bothering to tell her friend that she was gone.

Damon walked back in after a couple of minutes. He looked around for Bonnie. Good, she wasn't there.

She went over to the brunette, the one she had planned on using for the night. He didn't even bother acting polite or faking any interest anymore.

Straight to compelling.

She followed him obediently to his car and then his house.

As he sank his teeth into her feeble, white neck, he felt a kick of pure joy when he recalled Bonnie's shocked and outraged face.

The poor girl was shrivelling under him, but he was smiling happily into her neck, satisfied that he had got that reaction from Bonnie. Satisfied that he had shut her up, that he had closed her doors, that he had trapped her in her own words.

He felt liberated. Free to do anything.

Elena might have wanted him to change completely, but Bonnie wanted the exact opposite.

She wanted to keep him this way.

As he brought his teeth to the girl's neck again, he felt he was doing this for Bonnie, as an offering, as a gift in her honour. He was giving her himself. As proof of his loyalty to her feelings about him.

* * *

**Can you say corny much?**

**Apologies in advance for those who didn't like the changes :) Don't forget to review and tell me what you liked/didn't like.:)**


	4. Memory Lane

**Hey guys, my weekly chapter is finally up! It took me a while to write it and finally get it published because for the first couple of days I had no internet. Then when I finally got my sweet net back, I couldn't find a good place to watch the episode. Yeah, you can imagine I was getting slightly pissed. Not only because I couldn't watch, but because I couldn't write either.**

**When I did get my hands on the episode, I was kind of blown away. This episode was really nice. I mean thought it was quite good, one of the best this season. I know some of the acting was really hammy (I'm looking at you Mason), but overall, the episode was called _Memory Lane _and it did provide us with some wicked memories and some interesting insight on Katherine.**

**Oh, btw, is anybody else in love with this girl? I sure am now. After this episode, she's definitely in my good book.**

**Anyway, my initial response to the episode was 'Awesome!'. Then of course, I took a step back and rewatched some scenes with a more objective eye. My opinion changed. First off, there was no Bonnie and no Matt. Tyler was barely there. And I wanted more Caroline and more Damon too. Also, Katherine and Damon's exchange was pretty weak.**

**I guess you can't have all the supporting characters in an episode dedicated to memories.  
**

**Of course, there was no Bonnie and Damon either. But I've gotten used to that.**

**This episode did make me realize I need to rewatch season one, though. Cuz I was kind of a sloppy viewer and I missed a ton of details. So if I ever have the time, I'll rewatch some episodes.**

**Sorry for any inconsistencies with the story, it's my own fault for not having caught some details.**

**This chapter is more like a look behind scenes. As in it adds some scenes that happened during other scenes from the episode. Once again, I didn't rewrite the entire episode, because that would be insane and the episode was pretty good. I just added and changed some things. If you've watched the episode, you'll see what I mean.**

**The scenes that are changed : some of the barbecue scenes, Katherine-Caroline-Matt dynamics, one of the flashbacks has a noticeable change (you'll see), a Caroline/Elena scene and the scene with Mason and Damon towards the end.**

**Added scenes: Katherine/Bonnie, Bonnie/Matt, Matt/Tyler, Bonnie/Caroline, Bonnie/Damon, Emily/Damon, Bonnie/Mason.  
**

**Also, I gave Bonnie more of a plot with this one, because (and maybe it's just me) she's been running around, doing nothing for a while.**

**So in my version, Katherine and Bonnie collide more than once (which I believe should happen in the series as well). And Bonnie gets her own flashback, because let's not forget, Emily was Katherine's handmaid. So that _must _count for something.**

**That being said...**

**Many cookies and cups of hot chocolate to my awesome readers and reviewers! You make my day and fuel my work.:) Thanks a million to all the anonymous reviewers too and to those who take time and read this story!**

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter! Once again, I did crack some knuckles with this one so hopefully it's good.**

* * *

After paying Caroline a visit to "talk" about their little arrangement, Katherine decided she would go see the little witch too. It wasn't just that she was bored. Bonnie Bennett was certainly worthy of attention, in her own way. Though not as strong as her "darling", old Emily, the girl did possess a significant amount of powers that would come in handy later on.

'I can't exactly ignore her now, can I?' she told herself smirking.

It was early in the morning so Bonnie was just about to wake up. She was still stuck in the land of dreams, almost ready to get back to reality.

She hadn't had a very good sleep the other night. She had felt angry and confused. Damon had managed to get to her with only a couple of sentences. She always had a short fuse around him.

It unsettled her deeply that Damon might have meant those things, that he might have genuinely thought that she would ever find him _pleasant_.

Pleasant would never be the adjective to describe anything related to Damon.

He was her enemy.

Enemies can't be anything but enemies.

Enemies are never pleasant.

Katherine quietly sat down on a small chair positioned next to her bed. She watched Bonnie sleep. The girl was tossing and turning.

'Oh Bonnie…you look so much like Emily. I bet you even dream like her…' Katherine murmured, smiling into her palm. She extended her arm and pulled back one of Bonnie's dark strands, caressing her face in the process.

_Flashback_

Emily was making the fire for her mistress in her private chambers, when she heard her voice in the hallway. She was talking to someone in hushed tones. She recognized the other voice as that of a young man. Curiosity getting the better of her, Emily approached the door carefully, her ears alert. She opened it slowly.

Young Stefan Salvatore was holding Miss Katherine Pearce's hands in his. He kissed them gently. Then he caressed her cheek.

Emily had to strain her neck to hear the words being said.

She didn't catch all of them, but she was certain she heard Mr. Salvatore professing deep feelings for her mistress. Katherine was squirming in his hold and trying to get away, but he was adamant about telling her how he felt.

'You know nothing about me…I have a complicated past,' Katherine was saying.

Emily glued her cheek to the wall. She kept fidgeting with the necklace around her neck.

Mr. Salvatore didn't seem to care that Katherine was a stranger to him. He was too in love to see.

But Emily noticed that Katherine was being earnest. She wasn't warning him for the sake of her honour, or for the sake of appearing ladylike. Katherine was a dangerous woman. She was being sincere. She was trying to keep Stefan Salvatore at bay.

Unfortunately, Stefan was too blinded by her charms. He told her he had never met a woman like her.

Katherine was almost ready to give up and let him kiss her. He touched her lips tentatively. She responded. But then she quickly drew away.

'Did I upset you?' he asked concerned.

Katherine quickly denied it.

'No, no…you just surprised me.'

She promised him that they would talk the following day.

Emily quickly withdrew from the door and rushed to the other side of the room as Katherine made her entrance.

Her face betrayed no powerful inner struggle. She looked calm and grave. Almost serene. Her usual playfulness was masked behind her beautiful, dark eyes. Whatever torment she was suffering, she was hiding it very well.

She smiled wistfully into her palm as she arranged the delicate folds of her dress. She looked like the ancient temptress Calypso, dressed in her long, overflowing blue gown and framed by her dark, undulating curls. And it was clear that she had found her Odysseus.

Emily straightened herself quickly and bowed courteously.

'Oh, Emily, leave me alone tonight. I wish to think, undisturbed. You may go do as you please. Just make sure no one comes in here,' she instructed her languidly, throwing her shawl on the ottoman in the sitting room.

Emily nodded quietly and watched her mistress walk into her bedroom.

Before she disappeared from her sight, Katherine spoke once more.

'Oh and if Damon Salvatore should happen to call, tell him I have a terrible headache and don't wish to speak to him.'

'Yes, Miss Pearce,' Emily said obediently. She raised an eyebrow to herself.

The Mistress not wishing to see Damon Salvatore?

Didn't she encourage his courting whenever she had the chance? Wasn't she stringing him along like a faithful dog?

Was she tired of him now? Had she decided she wanted the other brother in the end? Had his confession truly affected her?

Could it be that she _loved_ him back?

Her mistress had told her once that she had never loved anyone. And she had been sincere. She couldn't imagine Katherine loving anyone. That's because her young mistress wasn't just like all the other young girls. Her youth, though present in her dazzling appearance, seemed to be entirely missing from her mind and from her heart. She was a cold, calculated woman, endowed with too much experience for her age. Emily did not know what had happened to Katherine in the past to make her such a phlegmatic girl. She was rarely touched by anything around her. It seemed, at times, that she lived in a glass cage that separated her from the entire world.

Could Stefan Salvatore have broken through that glass?

No one had done it before. And even when her mistress had appeared loving to anyone, it was always a scheme. In the back of her mind she was always scheming.

Could it be that now it was different?

'No, people do not change,' Emily told herself.

She didn't believe Katherine could change.

Someone knocked at the door. Emily quickly tied her bonnet and opened the door.

'Ah, little Emily, I wish to see your mistress right away,' Damon Salvatore told her, standing erect in the doorway.

Emily sighed.

'I'm afraid my mistress cannot see you tonight, Sir.'

'And why is that?'

'She is suffering from a terrible headache, Sir.'

'Is she now? I hope it is nothing serious. I think I could be of service. I know some useful cures,' he said smirking gallantly.

'I'm sure those cures have nothing to do with real medicine, but the mistress is in no condition to receive guests.'

'Inform her it's Damon Salvatore who wishes to see her. It's important. And private,' he told her briskly.

'I'm sorry but I can't do that. My mistress is resting. She specifically told me not to disturb her.'

'And I am _no_ disturbance. Go tell your mistress. I will not be delayed any longer. Not by a servant in any case.'

'I would happily oblige if I could, but she told me expressly not to receive you,' Emily said, growing impatient.

'Miss Katherine told you _I_ was not to be received? Why? She must have given a reason.'

'She did not. She wouldn't tell me,' Emily said, lowering her eyes. 'Now I would ask you to leave.'

'I won't leave until I get some answers.'

'I'm sorry but I have no answers for you,' she told him reluctantly.

'But you know something, don't you? Or at least you suspect it,' he said, a hint of irritation tingeing his words.

'What could I possibly know?' Emily argued.

'Servants such as yourself always have a way of knowing. So _tell_ me,' he demanded her.

'I have nothing to say to you, Sir,' she replied, her eyes glaring now.

Damon's face turned into an angry grimace. No servant girl ever spoke to him this way, not even jestingly.

He tried moving past her inside the room, but she placed a small, but firm hand on his chest.

She did not even push him away, but a strange force compelled Damon to step back, as her cold fingers touched his warm skin, passing through the shirt, the waistcoat and even the neckerchief.

He felt, for a brief moment, although it was impossible, that his very core had been touched.

It was a frightening jolt of power that drew him and distanced him at the same time.

He felt cold beads of sweat trickling down his back.

He stared at her in shock.

'I see why Katherine keeps you by her side,' he finally muttered, looking her up and down.

Emily folded her arms and looked at the tapestries on the wall, trying to avoid his gaze.

'You will not let me see her?' Damon asked, softer this time.

Emily shook her head, looking at her feet now.

'Is she…is she at least really indisposed?' he asked, his voice lower than usual. 'She did not seem so indisposed when she was dancing with my brother. She was not suffering from any headache.'

'She must have indulged herself with too much wine,' Emily told him sympathetically.

'No, wine has no effect on her,' Damon said staring into the fire, his eyes two orbs of shimmering light. 'Nor does a simple headache. She simply does not wish to see me. But if I were Stefan, if Stefan were to call, she would receive him gladly, wouldn't she?'

Emily finally looked at him. She shrugged her shoulders dismissively, trying to forget what she had just witnessed.

'I must admit that my mistress and young Mr. Salvatore have gotten very close,' she mumbled, feeling with every word that she was stabbing him.

Damon nodded his head in disgust.

'I knew that. I know my brother likes her well. But does she? Or is she simply playing? Would you know, Emily?'

'I wouldn't, Sir. She might be playing with us all,' Emily told him, smiling sadly.

Damon caught that smile and his lips curled up as well.

'She would never play with _me_,' he said firmly.

Damon bowed ceremoniously and shut the door behind him after that. He breathed in sharply as he walked away from Katherine's rooms. In his mind, an idea was starting to form. An idea that there was something inexplicably strange about Emily Bennett.

Emily, on the other hand, was left staring into the fire, her mind in a state of disquiet.

Katherine Pearce would be the end of those brothers.

'Emily…what are you doing?' her mistress' voice woke her up from her reveries.

Bonnie's eyes flickered open.

'Emily? What are you doing?' the question was repeated in the same tone.

Bonnie raised herself on her elbows, her breath shallow and haggard. She had been dreaming.

'Emily?'

Suddenly, she noticed the figure sitting by her bed.

She jumped up instantly, reaching for her necklace on the bedside table.

'Oh, relax, I'm not here to steal your precious jewellery,' Katherine scoffed. 'I just wanted to have a second chance with you. Our first meeting didn't go as well as planned. I wouldn't want you to have a bad first impression of me.'

Bonnie crawled out of bed, her mind reeling.

'Get out of here, Katherine.'

'How rude of you, _Emily_. I am just trying to make amends, you know. You did serve me for some time in the past and you served me well. Of course then you tried to stab me in the back which I did not appreciate, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. I should know.'

'I'm not Emily.'

'Of course not silly, but you and the old witch do like to switch minds from time to time, don't you? I think she wouldn't mind switching bodies either,' Katherine said, glancing at her appreciatively.

'I'm just teasing, I would feel eclipsed by your _youthful_ _charms_,' she reiterated, rolling her eyes.

'What do you want, Katherine?'

'Me? I just wanted to get to know you better. After all, you are a powerful witch that can harm vampires with the simple will of her mind. Kind of interesting, don't you think?'

'It obviously doesn't work on you. I'm doing it right now,' Bonnie replied acidly.

'No, but it works on the Salvatores. And frankly, I am much more interested to see how it affects them,' Katherine said, smirking.

'I don't use it on them.'

'You mean you don't use it on Stefan. Cuz he's the good cop. But you did use it on Damon. Deny it if you can.'

'Fine, I did. He can be a vicious psychopath. I have to protect my town and my people,' Bonnie replied. 'So what? Jealous I can do that?'

'Please, Bonnie, I could snap your neck right now and you wouldn't feel a thing. In fact, I'm not so sure you're safe from your vampire buddies either. See, I could probably do it faster, but Damon and Stefan could easily tear you to pieces if they wanted to. Your pretty face would be history.'

'I wouldn't be so sure about that,' Bonnie replied, clenching her fists.

'Really? All you know about this witchcraft of yours is that it can mess with Damon's head. Not exactly solid proof. _Anyone_ can mess with his head,' she told her, grinning.

'And now you are trying to mess with mine. Problem is I know your tricks, Katherine. It won't work.'

'Silly rabbit. I've already gotten into your head. Although you'll have to give Emily some credit for that too,' Katherine said, smiling sweetly. 'She did help me bring back some old memories.'

Bonnie stared at her confused.

'Well, you didn't think it was just a dream, did you? The Bennetts and the Salvatores go way back. We're all one big happy family, if you think about it.'

'I don't believe you. It was just a dream you planted in my head. It was not a memory.'

'How can you be so sure? Do you even know who Emily was? You don't even know, do you? I mean how could you if you've forgotten everything? Don't worry your pretty little head though; you know where to find the answers,' she told her allusively.

Bonnie frowned confused. She opened her mouth to ask her what she meant by that, but before she could utter a word, the door to her bedroom opened and she was gone.

* * *

'Car, you seem anxious. Did something happen?' Bonnie asked, watching Caroline tap her fingers nervously on the wheel. They had been invited to Jenna's barbecue. Caroline was driving. But she wasn't in any way calm. She looked very nervous.

'Nothing much except me turning into a vampire over night. Oh and breaking up with Matt in the process and maybe having to hunt bunnies for breakfast and not being able to get a good tan anymore,' Caroline said in a high-pitched voice.

'Okay, okay, that's all fair, but you seem too nervous…even for yourself. Did something happen yesterday? Something you'd like to tell me?'

'What do you mean?'

'You never really told me how the hunt with Stefan went.'

'Oh…that,' Caroline said, trying to act nonchalant. 'It was…it was pretty wild. Animals can be vicious. We almost got hurt.'

'Oh…you did? I didn't know our woods were that crowded. But nothing happened right?'

'Nope, just a few scratches here and there.'

Bonnie didn't look convinced.

'Honestly, Bonnie, I would've told you if anything really bad happened. Besides, Stefan took care of me. It's so great to have a vampire friend. I mean…when you're a vampire,' she said quickly.

Bonnie smiled and looked away.

'Yeah, it must be.'

She kept thinking about Katherine's visit and about what she had said. She knew Katherine just wanted to get to her. Maybe her present confusion was just the desired outcome, but she couldn't help going over her words time and time again. As much as it pained her, she was interested to know what Katherine had meant. Especially since it involved the Salvatore brothers.

She wasn't sure yet if she should tell Elena about Katherine's visit. On the one hand, it would be stupid and dangerous to hide it from her, on the other hand, she didn't want Elena worrying for her. She was worrying enough for everyone else.

But if she kept it to herself she had to do something about it. It was her obligation to know what Katherine was up to. And if it involved her and her powers, she had to know why Katherine was interested in them particularly.

She had to know what was buried deep in her past, in Emily's past, that Katherine wanted her to see.

She knew Katherine was here for personal reasons. And she knew Elena wasn't entirely safe from her. If Katherine wanted something from her, she would get it by any means.

Bonnie shook her head. She would make sure Elena was always safe. Her best friend would never be harmed by Katherine, she vowed to herself.

'Bonnie! Earth to Bonnie!' Caroline was shouting.

'You don't have to yell, Car.'

'Well, you were lost in La-La land. How was I supposed to know?'

'I was just resting. I had a pretty rough night. Got no real sleep.'

'What kept you awake?'

'The usual. Vampires,' she muttered. 'What did you want to ask?'

'Oh, I er…just wanted to know if Matt has been mentioning me. Or if he's talked to you recently…'

'Car, it's just been a couple of hours. I'm not so sure he wants to talk to anyone right now. And why would he call me of all people?'

'I don't know. I just wanted to make sure…'

'You know, you could do the mature thing and talk to him about it. You obviously broke up with him, not the other way around.'

'What are you saying?'

'Come on, Car, we both know you wanted him to leave you so it would be easier for you to leave him. You'd feel less guilty this way. But you're hurting yourself even more like this. You care too much about him to let him go just like that. You'll have to face him eventually.'

'Maybe some day I will be ready to face him, but that won't happen very soon. I just want to be alone with myself and my thoughts. No love interests. No human temptations. Not in my condition. I could seriously harm Matt.'

'I'm sitting right next to you and you're not jumping my neck,' Bonnie replied.

'You're a witch who could probably kick my ass, Bonnie. Wouldn't want to risk that. Plus, you're not exactly my type.'

'Excuse me?'

'I meant I wouldn't really like to jump _your_ jugular.'

'Well now I _really_ feel insulted,' Bonnie mocked, rolling her eyes.

'You shouldn't,' Caroline said, laughing nervously. 'It's not so funny sometimes. It can get to me. It can cloud my judgement. It makes me forget you're human. I think of you as just…_food_. It's agonizing. It's like treating someone like a piece of meat.'

'Okay, okay, I get it. I was just…trying to make you feel better. Plus, you brought up the whole jugular thing,' Bonnie said, massaging her neck.

'I know, but you can take a break from trying so hard, I just need some me time,' Caroline repeated.

'Fine…just make sure that during your 'me time', Stefan is there to supervise you,' Bonnie added.

Caroline nodded and made a left. After two more minutes of silence, Caroline looked over at Bonnie and smiled.

'You know I'm right. You don't want me dating Matt, not really.'

'What the hell are you talking about?'

'You know what I mean Bonnie. Deep down, even though you think Matt and I are right for each other, you know a relationship between the two of us would be crazy. It can't be anything else when you have the urge to kill that person. And I'm no Stefan…'

Bonnie hugged herself instead of choosing to reply.

After a while, they reached Elena's house.

Bonnie suddenly spotted Damon talking on the porch with Mason Lockwood.

'What is _he_ doing here?'

'Damon? I don't know…this is a surprise. Didn't think Elena would have him here. I mean she knew _I_ was coming,' Caroline said, staring at the raven-haired vampire.

'He's the party pooper as usual. Okay, let's turn around before he…oh, no, he's coming this way.'

Damon had, in fact, noticed Bonnie and Caroline sitting in the car. His mouth instantly curled up into a knowing smirk and he sauntered purposefully towards their car.

'Hello, baby vamp, nice ring you got there. Afraid it doesn't go with your hair,' Damon observed, leaning against Bonnie's window.

Caroline wrinkled her nose and turned her head away.

'I am not speaking to you, jerk.'

'Don't worry, I have no impending wish to hear your annoying whining again. I'm here to talk to my admirer,' he said, staring directly at Bonnie, smirking maliciously.

Bonnie huffed and pulled the door open, pushing him away in the process.

She started walking towards the house, Damon following her.

'Oh, Bonnie, I can just relax and be myself around you. You'll always accept me,' Damon mocked.

'Shut up, you idiot. I never said any of that. Being yourself is…'

'The best thing that's ever happened to you? I know. I've always known you had a crush on me. I mean even witches have the hots for me,' Damon said smirking.

'Okay, I am just going to push you off your high horse and maybe when you get down you'll get a call from reality. FYI, I'd rather crush on a fungus.'

'Oh, you know I would tell Stefan, but I don't know if he'd appreciate the comparison.'

'Will you just get over yourself already?' she told him in an exasperated tone. She entered the house and Damon pursued her.

'Not until you confess to the world how much you are infatuated with me.'

Bonnie kept walking away, ignoring him.

'…that or you can help me get to Mason Lockwood,' Damon added when he was close to her ear.

This time Bonnie turned towards him.

'Mason Lockwood? Tyler's uncle?' she asked, curiosity seeping into her voice.

'That would be me.'

If it hadn't been for Damon, Bonnie was sure she would've screamed. Mason was standing right behind her.

'And you lovely lady are…?'

'Um…Bonnie Bennett. I'm Elena's friend,' she replied awkwardly, shaking his hand.

She instantly felt a painful surge sting her skin. Her eyes widened slightly.

'Pleasure to meet you. I'm sure I've seen you before. Or maybe Tyler's told me about you,' he said, eyeing her with interest.

'Maybe you saw me at the funeral. I was there briefly, paying my respects,' Bonnie replied crisply. 'I'm really sorry about your brother. He was a respected figure in our town.'

'Thank you, I appreciate the gesture. He was a very good man indeed and he will be missed. Are you and Tyler friends?'

'Distant friends, yes.'

'I'll ask him about you. He tells me about everyone who is _interesting_ in this town,' he told her, half-joking, half in earnest.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow confused.

'Meanwhile…would you like to have a shot, on the house?' he asked, grinning.

'Sure…why not?' she said, forcing herself to smile.

When Mason was out of earshot, Damon turned to her.

'Isn't it sad that there's a bigger creep in town than me?'

'Whatever he is, he's not human,' Bonnie whispered, looking around warily.

Damon gave her an explanatory look. She covered her mouth with her hand.

'_He_'s the werewolf ?'

'He's a Lockwood, isn't he? So yes, he'd be the werewolf in our story. A cocky, powerful werewolf, that is.'

'What is he _doing_ here?'

'He's the purpose of this entire barbecue. Alaric invited him so we can unmask him.'

'Unmask him how?'

'Haven't figured it out yet, but it's going to involve silver,' Damon said.

'Just because silver is _your_ weakness, it doesn't mean it's his as well.'

'Thanks for the input, _Bonnie_, but I think I will try anyway. I'd like to cover all my options.'

'So what, you're going to stab him in the back with a silver fork?'

'Hmmm…excellent idea actually,' he said walking towards the kitchen.

'No, it's not. If he's dangerous, you'll just make a new unknown enemy.'

'Aww, worried for me already?'

'Let me reiterate. You'd make him _our_ enemy. We don't want that.'

'I think all of us can take him,' Damon said confidently.

'You don't know that. Plus, he's on to you. And to me. I'm sure he wasn't just joking when he said he'd ask Tyler about me. He must suspect something is going on in this town,' she told him worriedly.

'Let him find out then,' Damon said, playing with the kitchen knife. 'Me, I'm dying to reveal my intentions.'

'Well, I'm not. It's bad enough now there are werewolves in this town,' she told him sternly.

'Speaking of which, would you care telling me what your grandma told you about werewolves?'

Bonnie was about to reply, but just then Jenna entered the kitchen, carrying a couple of plates.

'Oh, Bonnie hey! Good to see you. Could you help Caroline out? She's standing at the doorway with a large package.'

'Oh, crap, I forgot,' Bonnie muttered and rushed to the door to let Caroline in.

'You know, this whole, vampires can't come in crap is getting really old,' the blonde girl muttered, pushing past her and into the kitchen.

'Still not talking to you, Damon,' she said when she saw him at the table.

'Still don't care blondie,' he said waving his hand.

Bonnie was about to follow Caroline in the kitchen, when Mason Lockwood stopped her midway.

'Here is your shot. Make sure you use it wisely,' he joked. 'Wouldn't want to get in trouble with minors.'

Bonnie smiled and held the small glass tightly in her hand.

'You can drink it. It's not poisonous,' he said laughing.

'So, Mason, what brings _you_ to Mystic Falls?'

'My family, frankly. I thought the guys needed a helping hand after all that happened. I'm the head of the family for now.'

'They do need all the support they can get,' Bonnie agreed. 'Tell me, though, are you going to be on the council from now on?'

Mason suddenly tensed.

'I…haven't discussed that with my family yet. It's too early.'

'But do you plan on doing that later?'

'Maybe. If the town will have me,' he said, grinning.

'So you plan on staying here for a while then,' Bonnie concluded.

'Pretty _and_ sharp,' he complimented her. 'Yes, I'm thinking of sticking around actually.'

'Well, we're just happy to have you, aren't we?' Damon said, coming from behind.

Mason smiled and walked away from them.

'We sound like interrogators, he's already wary of us,' Bonnie told him.

'Like I said, I have no wish to keep him in the dark. By all means, I want him to be wary. I'd also want him dead but maybe that's asking for too much in one go,' Damon said, smiling mischievously.

'After he's dead you won't have to worry about him spilling the beans anyway,' he added.

'You honestly think you can kill a werewolf so easily? Emily told grandma that werewolves are extremely difficult to kill. They're dangerous, Damon.'

'Once again your concern is touching,' Damon teased.

'Are you hearing any word I'm saying?' she asked annoyed. 'It would be useless to attack him head on.'

His face instantly changed when he saw Elena walking through the door.

'I brought the cupcakes,' she said out loud.

'You keep thinking about that, I'll be back,' Damon said walking away.

Bonnie rolled her eyes and followed him to greet Elena.

She stopped by the staircase and watched them.

'I told you, you were not invited,' Elena muttered.

'And if I recall well, I'm the one that came up with this ingenious plan. So you have no right to throw me out.'

'Fine, I'm not throwing you out. But you and Alaric had better be careful. I don't want another murderous fiasco around here.'

'Murderous fiasco? Who told you that? I am a professional. Quick and clean,' he joked.

'Then act like one and stop flirting shamelessly,' she told him, moving past him.

'Why so quick to dismiss me?'

'Wouldn't want you thinking I'm stringing you along,' she replied acidly, throwing his previous words back into his face.

Damon was reminded of their not so pleasant conversation back at Duke's.

'You're still hung up on that? Cuz I have much bigger fish to fry,' he said, eyeing Mason from across the room.

'I'm not hung up on anything. It's just that every day I discover how much of a jackass you are.'

'Really? Because correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm the one who should be pissed at you, not the other way around. And you're making that very easy to happen.'

'I don't care how pissed you are. I just told you the truth and if you can't handle it…'

'Relax, I'm not here to get even with you, I'm here for Mason. So I would appreciate it if you stayed out of the way.'

'Just don't do anything stupid,' Elena told him, glaring. Damon smiled and mocked kissing her hand.

Bonnie, who had watched the entire exchange, felt a strange sense of deja vu. As if she had seen this exact scene before somewhere.

She shook her head and went to look for Caroline.

She found her in the back yard, talking on the phone in hushed tones.

When Caroline saw Bonnie approaching, she quickly shut her phone and dropped it in her purse.

'Hey, who were you talking to?'

'Oh, no one, I was just sending a message…' Caroline mumbled vaguely.

'To whom?'

'Let's go inside the house, I'm starving.'

'Was it Matt?' Bonnie asked.

'Maybe. It doesn't matter. I deleted it anyway. It never happened,' Caroline said, walking away.

'It did happen. Caroline maybe you should call…'

'I'm fine okay? I am fine!'

'No, you're not. You just say you are, but you're obviously having a hard time dealing with this.'

'Yes I am having a hard time. But it doesn't mean I want any help! Now can we please go eat?'

Bonnie watched Caroline stomp inside the house angrily. Something was wrong with her.

She was right. Caroline was not being herself. But Bonnie didn't know it wasn't just Matt that was getting to Caroline.

She hadn't been talking to Matt, she had received a call from Katherine who was making sure she was doing her job, keeping Elena at the barbecue and away from Stefan.

But Bonnie was convinced Caroline was feeling miserable over her boyfriend.

She knew there was one way she could help solve this problem.

So she told Elena she'd go buy more drinks and instead went over to Matt's house to talk to him. She didn't wish to be around the house anyway.

* * *

Meanwhile, Caroline and Elena were helping out in the kitchen.

'Looks like Jenna's a bit tipsy now,' Caroline said as Jenna walked into the room laughing, while Damon poured her another drink.

'It's the only way Jenna would warm up to Damon,' Elena said, making a face at him.

'Hey, it's my way of connecting with people. I actually make an effort to reach out to them,' he said grinning.

'You're a pig,' Caroline told him, sticking out her tongue.

'I liked it better when you weren't talking to me.'

'Any luck with Mason?' Elena asked him.

'Alaric and I are using all the wolf innuendos we can find but somehow this guy hasn't cracked yet.'

'I meant with the silver,' Elena said, more quietly.

'Don't worry, I have it all under control,' Damon whispered.

'So, Damon, you said you wanted to see my old silverware?' Jenna asked playfully.

Damon winked at them.

'That's what I want, Jenna darling,' he said smoothly. 'Nothing like pure silver to put me in the mood.'

'How can you stand him?' Caroline asked, wrinkling her nose.

'I can't, but I manage somehow. Damon, I've learnt, is like a virus. You can't just ignore him. You have to deal with him head on.'

'I meant vampires in general. How can you stand being around Stefan and Damon knowing they are what they are?'

Elena scratched her head uncomfortably.

'I've gotten used to that aspect…'

'Yeah, okay, you might think you have. But seriously, how can you be so close to someone who wants your blood 24/7?'

'Caroline, it's not like that…'

'Yes it is. You have no idea how tempting you are.'

'I know my blood is a temptation, but that's not a problem for Stefan.'

'Even I can smell your blood. Stefan can too. It must drive him crazy sometimes that you're so close.'

'Stefan has learnt to control it. It no longer controls him,' Elena replied irritated.

'He thinks he has control over it now, but who knows what could happen. He could be the strongest vampire alive. But blood is still his constant weakness. It would only take one moment for him to forget himself and then…'

'And then what?'

'Then he forgets you're Elena and that you're human. And I couldn't stand that happening to you. I just couldn't.'

'Caroline, you know nothing about Stefan.'

'I _know _vampires. I do now. It didn't take me long to figure it out. I realized what kind of beast is locked up inside that neat, handsome package we call vampire. That's why I had to break it with Matt. That's why I let him walk away. Because it was too dangerous.'

'Look, Caroline, I know it must've been hard for you to break it with Matt but don't project your relationship…'

'I'm not projecting, Elena. This isn't just me and Matt. No vampire and human could ever work together. You can fool yourself into thinking it could last, but in the long run, you will grow old and weak and Stefan will still be young and handsome. And you will not even be able to have a family, or be a mother. And I know you Elena, you're a motherly figure, you would miss having children.'

'Wow, wow, where is all this coming from?'

'It's coming from _your_ friend. I don't want to see you get hurt and disappointed.'

'You're hurting me now, Caroline. You're the vampire that's hurting me,' Elena said, walking away from her.

'Elena, I didn't mean…'

But she was already gone. Caroline sighed and put her hands over her face. She wanted to breathe, she wanted to let go of the guilt. But she couldn't breathe.

The words had slipped out of her mouth too easily. It had been so easy to hurt her.

This is what Katherine was making her do. Estranging her best friend. She felt like the worst person alive.

'But I'm not alive,' she whispered to herself. 'I'll never be alive again.'

* * *

_Hi, Matt…I know I'm the last person you want to hear right now. But I wanted to talk to you. Just one last time. I think our last talk didn't go so well. You didn't give me a chance to explain. __But you were right to break up with me. The truth is, I didn't treat you well at all. I was a terrible girlfriend. I wish I could make it up to you. See, I just…I just wanted to have what Elena had. I just wanted you to feel what you felt for her. Guess I messed it up and I ended up hurting you. I'll never forgive myself for it. But I do care about you, Matt… A lot. I just want you to be happy. Please, try to forget about me. Forever...  
_

Matt dropped the phone in his lap, rubbing his eyes dizzily. He had just received this message from Caroline.

He had woken up this morning with the hope that he might be able to fix things with her. That maybe there was a chance left.

Now, he felt completely down. And no matter what he told himself, he couldn't bring himself to call her back.

The words _Elena_, _break_, _forget_, _forever_ they were stinging his eyes.

He didn't have the will to hear them again.

…_I_ _just_ _wanted_ _to_ _have_ _what_ _Elena_ _had_…

He was seeing darkness. Nothing but starless darkness.

Another one to add to the list of persons he had lost. The list was growing bigger and bigger.

* * *

Katherine shut the phone with a click and smiled in satisfaction. She was very pleased with herself.

She figured she still had it in her.

After all these years, she could still sound so much like a human.

After all this time, she could still take people's lives away.

* * *

Bonnie found Matt at the pub. He was brooding quietly at one of the tables, four beers in front of him, eyes glued to the television set across the room.

'Nice way of spending your afternoon, huh?'

He looked up tiredly. His eyes were blood-shot and he had dark circles underneath.

He was out of shape.

'Beats sitting home by myself,' he replied weakly.

Bonnie sat down next to him, patting his shoulder.

'Maybe you should take it easy with the beers.'

'I'm fine. I just wanted to forget some things.'

'Could one of those things be Caroline?' Bonnie asked patiently.

'Are you here to talk to me about her? Because that's the last thing…'

'No, Matt, I'm not here to bother you. I just want to have a talk, between friends. We're both worried about her. There's no use pretending. You might have broken up with her but you still care about her. As a friend, at least.'

'I wish I didn't,' he replied bitterly, his eyes squinting slightly.

'You don't mean that, Matt.'

'Yes, I do. I miss her more than anything and I hate it, Bonnie. I'm tired of the constant fighting. The constant struggle to keep her by my side. She was never pleased. She always wanted something more from me. I gave her all I could give to someone I loved. She was upset I was still hung up on Elena so I made an effort to distance myself from her and forget we were ever involved. She wanted me to have more fun and pay more attention to her, so I swallowed my pain and I gave her what she wanted, even though I was hurting. Now she's turned her back on me because I talked to some random girl? Now she wants me to forget everything, just like that?'

Bonnie listened to him carefully as he drained his heart out to her. He was so fragile right now that she could read him like an open book.

'She hasn't been the best of girlfriends, I gather. Not the most considerate either. Let's just agree she's a bit self-absorbed and can't handle a relationship as well as everybody. But you know Caroline can change. You know she's a great girl. And you know she loves you back. She gets overly jealous, because she's afraid of losing you.'

'Why would she be afraid? Why? I'm tired of this constant fear of hers that I'm going to leave her. Haven't I proven myself enough?'

Bonnie sighed. She couldn't help him understand unless she told him what Caroline was.

'Caroline is not feeling really well right now. She went through some rough things. You did too. You're stronger than her so you managed to put the past behind you, but she's still struggling with that.'

'What does _she_ have to struggle with?' he asked angrily. 'She's a pampered princess. What could possibly weigh on her shoulders?'

Bonnie didn't answer.

'Tell me, since you seem to know her so well.'

'I can't…'

'Tell me what she's going through. Maybe then I could understand,' he said bitterly.

'I'm just…I'm not the one you have to talk to. You have to get these answers from her,' Bonnie said reluctantly. 'All that I can tell you is that she's feeling very guilty right now for having hurt you.'

'Guilty? She's feeling guilty?'

'Yes. You have no idea how bad she feels. She never meant to hurt you…'

'But she did, didn't she? She _used_ me.'

At that exact moment, the door to the pub opened, revealing Tyler Lockwood.

He was looking rather miserable. His entire face seemed tinged with sadness.

As he walked towards the bar, Bonnie noticed him clenching and unclenching his fists, in an attempt to calm himself down.

Her eyes suddenly widened.

_Lockwood_...

Tyler Lockwood was a werewolf too. He just didn't know it yet. Or maybe he knew.

What if he knew?

What if he'd known all along?

She wondered if he and Mason were in on the secret together.

Matt had observed Bonnie's instant reaction towards Tyler when he walked in.

He found it strange.

But then it all made sense. Caroline was feeling guilty for having hurt him.

He suddenly realized something.

'Tyler? Is that who she's feeling guilty about? Tyler?'

'What are you talking about?' Bonnie asked nervously.

'Oh, so he's the reason she's feeling guilty. Did she cheat on me with Tyler?'

'What? Caroline would never do that,' Bonnie answered. 'Where would you get that idea?'

'Don't lie to me Bonnie. I've seen him look at her. I've seen her look at him too. And now she's acting all strange with me. Ever since that accident she's been someone completely different. Ever since that accident when _he _was the one driving…' he trailed off, glaring menacingly at Tyler.

The beers were starting to take its toll on Matt whose anger was getting the better of him.

All those weeks of pent-up frustration, all those days filled with jealousy and suspicion, all the times he had wanted to break free, all those times he had wanted to yell, shout, _do_ something.

Tyler had been responsible for Caroline's accident. He had harmed her. She had been near death because of _him_. She had almost died.

He could have lost her forever. Tyler would have taken her away from him.

And now, now he was just sitting here letting him get away with it?

He didn't care anymore.

He rose from the table precipitately and walked over to Tyler.

'Hey, asshole, why don't you turn around?' he yelled at him.

Tyler looked over his shoulder. Matt was hovering over his chair, barely standing up straight, reeking of alcohol.

'Wow, buddy, you had too many beers?' Tyler joked lightly.

'Hey, don't you dare talk to me that way, you bag of shit!'

With that, he swung his fist at Tyler and he fell over his chair with a loud thud.

Tyler slowly got up, massaging his jaw.

Matt punched him again, this time in the stomach.

'Hey, why don't you fight back?'

'Easy there, idiot. You're drunk. I don't want to hurt you…'

'No. For the first time, I'm seeing straight,' Matt muttered.

'You don't want to fight me, man. Not again. Remember how it went with your mom?'

'You do _not _talk about my mother!' Matt yelled kicking him in the shin.

'Don't force me! I won't hold back like I did last time!' Tyler growled, his anger getting the best of him.

'First you move on my own mother, then on Caroline? Bad move Lockwood!'

'Stay out of my way!' Tyler yelled pushing him away.

'No, why don't we finish what we started long ago?' Mat yelled.

Matt tried punching him again, but Tyler caught his wrist and twisted it.

Bonnie ran over to them and tried pulling Matt away.

But a blinded Matt hauled towards Tyler again and the latter was forced to push him roughly over some tables.

They fell down together but they wrestled each other on the floor.

Bonnie noticed Tyler wasn't being himself either. His eyes had darkened and he was fighting back like a wild animal.

She tried using her powers to separate them, but it was useless. Tyler was now out of control.

A sudden sharp of pain took over her mind. She pressed her hands to her forehead. She was feeling dizzy.

The violence was making her nauseous. But at the same time, something inside of her was reeling. Something inside of her was trying to get out.

A feeling of exhilaration enveloped her body.

She felt a chortle of laughter digging its way up her throat.

She suddenly saw Emily laughing. No, she heard her. She was laughing.

Why was she laughing?

She opened her eyes and saw a window in front of her. She looked out the window.

Two men were fighting in the grass. The sun was shining coldly over their lean bodies.

Only, they weren't fighting with their fists, they were using their sharp teeth.

'Stefan, Damon!' she yelled. But she kept laughing.

She put a hand over her mouth to stop the laughter, but it just kept getting louder.

She couldn't help herself.

They were tearing up each other's throats.

They were going to kill each other. And she was going to watch.

Suddenly, she forced her fist through the window and broke the glass. Her hand started bleeding. She climbed over the window and jumped down.

She opened her eyes.

She was holding an empty bottle of bear. She had just crashed it over Tyler's body.

He had fallen on the floor.

Matt was leaning against the opposite wall, his face black and blue all over, staring wildly at Tyler's unconscious figure.

One of the onlookers rushed to his side and checked his pulse.

'He's alive, he's just badly injured!' he yelled. Tyler groaned hoarsely and tried getting up but he was pushed back on the floor by Matt's hand.

'It's okay, it's going to be alright,' he told Tyler. 'Somebody call an ambulance!'

Bonnie stepped away from the scene, throwing the bottle aside.

Her entire body was shaking. She had done this. She had got into the fight.

She had hurt someone. She had hurt Tyler.

Her judgement was clouded.

She had never been a violent person before. She would never do this.

She ran out of the pub, feeling sick to her stomach. She threw up in the back alley.

No, this wasn't her. She was always the person in control.

When Elena and Caroline were in trouble, she was always the voice of reason. She couldn't be losing it now.

Was it her powers? Was it Emily? Was it Katherine?

She leant her head against the wall, trying to cool herself. Her forehead was boiling.

She stayed in that alley for what felt like an eternity before she found the courage to get up and leave.

She had to go home and wash. She had to wash away this afternoon.

She was very shaken. But she wasn't yet conscious of what had really happened.

As she walked across the town square, he saw Damon and Mason talking from afar.

She approached quietly.

She noticed Damon was holding the silver knife in his back pocket.

She watched carefully.

Damon was trying to play it nice so he could find the right moment to stab him. Mason seemed to be falling for it.

They were about to shake hands.

At the decisive moment, Damon hauled the knife towards him but Mason blocked it and pushed him across the street.

'Okay, _now _I'm disappointed. For a second there, I thought you actually meant it,' Mason said, smiling bitterly. 'It's too bad you had to go and do that. Now you've got yourself an enemy.'

Bonnie's anger flared inside of her.

Mason Lockwood was a dangerous werewolf who had no right to come into her town and make threats. He had no right to trespass her territory.

She didn't want werewolves around. She wanted them gone.

She saw that he had bent to pick up the knife.

She focused her powers on him.

Suddenly, Mason put his hand over his head, kneeling on the ground helplessly.

His body wasn't responding to his wishes.

He yelled out loud. His legs weren't moving any longer.

Every limb from his body hurt. His head was about to explode. He gritted his teeth over his tongue, tasting blood.

The pain was similar to that of the transformation.

But it wasn't a full moon.

Damon stared at him confused. Then he saw Bonnie coming from behind.

She took hold of Mason, holding his arms back.

Damon picked up the knife, staring at Bonnie in utter shock.

Her eyes were dark and stormy, but the gentle shadow of kindness was still present under her eyelashes. That's what made it all the more frightening.

Her mouth was twisted into a bitter smile.

'Do it,' she told him firmly. 'Do it.'

Damon felt a wild fire tingling at the bottom of his stomach. He grinned and grabbed the knife, plunging it into Mason Lockwood's chest.

Mason made a painful, hissing sound as his head fell down.

Damon pushed the knife further in, eliciting a gasp from Bonnie, who felt like she was being pierced herself.

With his hand still on the knife, Damon stared into Bonnie's hollow eyes.

Deep down, they had both enjoyed that. She had let go of her anger and he had followed her into the descend, into the alluring, warm darkness.

The sudden need to protect the town, coupled with their hidden fascination for evil gave them enough reason to act together.

They were both gazing at each other intensely, as if a strong liaison had been formed between them.

They weren't breathing.

After a split-second, Bonnie let go of Mason's body and he collapsed on the pavement.

He started coughing like wild, trying to extricate the silver knife from his body.

'Run. Just run,' Damon told Bonnie. 'I'll handle this.'

Bonnie didn't wait for him to say anything else.

In a few moments, she was gone.

Mason spat out some blood on the pavement. He managed to rip out the knife and throw it at Damon's feet.

He raised himself slightly, cleaning some dirt from his palms.

'Pretty _and_ deadly,' Mason repeated his compliment hoarsely.

He grinned back at Damon who was staring at him warily.

Mason Lockwood was not to be underestimated.

* * *

**And that's a wrap! I didn't tackle the very last scenes of the episode because I've got nothing to add to them. But you can fill in the gaps, as usual. I hope you liked it. Don't forget to review!**


	5. Kill or Be Killed

**Hi everyone, I'm finally back with a new chapter! I know I am so behind with the episodes, but I've just started college and it's not exactly a piece of cake. So I have little time for writing fanfiction. I'm really sorry. Fear not though, I do try and make time. Luckily, this weekend was freer for me so I could finally splurge on some much needed Vampire Diaries fanfiction. **

**So, I am only updating episode five, because I am still in the works on episode six. They were both really good. Episode six was better, but they were both up to standard. I finally felt things are going somewhere. Old Vampire Diaries is back. And by the looks of the seventh episode's promo, this show is getting better and better. (Oh, yeah and TVD has achieved the impossible: making me like a Lady Gaga song - they used _Teeth _in the new promo and it actually worked really well! Made it look like an awesome dark comedy.)  
**

**Anyways, _Kill or Be Killed_ was a strong episode, but once again, Bonnie was missing from the spotlight and so was her and Damon. There is some great interaction of them in the sixth episode, but I'll get to that later. **

**For now, I'll let you enjoy the fifth episode, my rendition of course. **

**Now again, this chapter starts with how the last chapter ended. For those of you who don't remember, in my version, Matt and Tyler had a relatively small fight (kind of a foreshadowing for the big one in episode seven :D ) and they end up in the hospital but they don't suffer any big injuries. Also, Bonnie goes a little haywire and helps Damon stab Mason with the silver knife. Also, Emily is resurfacing and Katherine has got something to do with that.**

**More of that in this chapter.**

**Again, in order to get the chapter, you gotta watch episode five, cuz the parts that are missing from the story and which I didn't write because it would take me thousands of years, are in the episode and they make sense with the story. **

**Another thing: Thanks a million to all my awesome reviewers! You know who you are! And the anonymous ones too, thanks for stopping by! Thanks to all readers for supporting this story. Please don't forget to review and tell me what you think of this chapter. **

**I did kind of work hard for it. :D**

**P.S. I felt kind of weird when in episode six, Bonnie went and did to Mason what I made her do in episode four. Huh, neat little coincidence :) But that's just me being silly.

* * *

**

Tyler Lockwood was currently standing on the edge of a hospital bed, trying to put on his shoes, while his livid uncle was yelling at him. He sighed. He would've liked to be anywhere else.

His back hurt like hell. He coughed shortly. He smiled. That Bonnie…She sure knew how to throw a bottle.

Luckily, he hadn't been seriously injured. Only a couple of scratches here and there.

His uncle seemed to think otherwise.

'You could have seriously harmed Matt!' he insisted, when Tyler assured him he was fine.

'But he's alive isn't he? Look, I know I lost my temper, but the guy was drunk and he just hauled at me out of nowhere for simply minding my own business. He didn't even give me a chance to defend myself. He just jumped my neck like a lunatic. What was I supposed to do? Let him beat me up?'

'Yes, maybe you should've done that, anything than having to resort to violence against someone!'

'But he started the violence!' Tyler yelled back.

'I don't care! I don't want you in these fights, Tyler. They're dangerous!'

Tyler got up and walked up to his uncle, his nostrils flaring.

'Oh, yeah? Cuz having you around is not dangerous at all. Or would you need me to remind you that you almost killed Caroline and Stefan?'

Mason chuckled bitterly and grabbed him by the shoulders.

'You have no idea what it's like being me.'

'I guess I don't, but I'm not dying to become a monster like you.'

'Then spare me the argument and never become one!' Mason shrieked, pushing him back on the bed.

'What makes you think I ever will?'

They locked eyes for a brief and painful moment. It lasted less than a second, but Tyler somehow understood. His uncle's eyes were grey and empty.

'If you had killed Matt, you would've been one. Killing is what triggers the curse,' Mason almost whispered, letting his head fall in his chest.

Tyler opened his mouth in shock. Not because of what he had heard, but because a moment ago he had thought of the same thing. A moment ago he had seen it in Mason's eyes.

'Murder…' Tyler mumbled, shuddering internally.

'Ironic, isn't it?'

'You…you mean you killed someone?' Tyler asked after some time.

His uncle smiled and nodded his head.

'Would I be here if I hadn't?'

'Who was it?'

'It was someone I cared about. Which made the whole thing a lot more painful,' Mason replied, shutting his eyes momentarily as if something was stinging him.

'Did they ever catch you?' Tyler asked quietly.

Mason laughed. A short, cold, biting laugh.

'Good one, little nephew. Good one.'

'Well? I have the right to know!'

'No, I wasn't caught. Because it was an accident. So you can rest assured, your uncle's not really a murderer. But I got into a stupid fight. Just like you did. It was exactly the same. And now I'm paying the consequences.'

After saying this, he drew in a strong breath, took his jacket from the chair and walked out of the ward.

Tyler was left alone. For the first time in his life, he felt he really was alone in this world.

Before, he had had his mother. She wasn't a very sharp woman, but she had been a comfort to him.

Now, his own mother didn't know him. She hadn't known his father to begin with and she certainly didn't know him. She would never understand anything about the Lockwood curse, much less about how it affected him.

His uncle, whom he had considered a mentor, a fatherly figure, someone he could count on, had turned his back on him, revealing his true nature. He was a restrained and calculated monster, digging himself deeper into a hole of desperation.

His friends – well, there were no friends. Matt would probably resent him now.

The prospects looked bleak.

Now, all his life he would have to live with the fear of killing someone. Just one involuntary mistake, it would take only a matter of moments, and he would become like his uncle.

He was now deprived of freedom.

He placed his hands over his face. That's why he didn't hear someone coming in quietly.

A reluctant and shy Bonnie was standing in the doorway. She looked mortified.

'Tyler? Are you alright?'

He looked up quickly.

'Oh, it's you… I thought you were my uncle.'

Bonnie nodded her head warily. She had seen Mason leave, but she had been careful to avoid him entirely.

'I came to see if you were alright and to tell you how sorry I am…' she began.

'Bonnie, it's not that bad, just a few stitches,' he said, forcing himself to smile.

'No, hear me out. It's not alright. What I did was terrible. I resorted to violence…'

'Please,' Tyler stopped her, 'I've heard these words before. And I am starting to hate them. Truth is, you did what you had to do to stop me.'

'No, I could've done something else. I could've used other means to prevent you from…'

'What other means?' Tyler asked, curiosity finding its way into his eyes. He got up.

'Well…any other. Just not harming you.'

'Bonnie, you're not a superhero, you know that right? You were only trying to help. I don't resent you for it. So just drop it, okay?'

Bonnie hung her head and sighed.

'Something worse could've happened,' she mumbled.

'No, Matt is fine, he's going to be okay…' Tyler said awkwardly.

'I know, but either way,' Bonnie said. 'Matt is the one who started it. And I just want you to know, he wasn't really upset with you. He was having a rift with Caroline and he couldn't think straight…'

'I know. Trust me, I'd figured it out long before he punched me. I'm not _that_ stupid.'

'Of course not! I just…'

'Bonnie,' he said touching her arm. 'Stop trying to explain yourself to me. You'd better go see Matt. I don't have the strength to do it. But someone has to.'

Bonnie nodded her head and smiled weakly.

Tyler smiled back and opened the door and left the ward.

Bonnie watched him go. She folded her arms tightly.

If she hadn't stopped Tyler, who knew what could've happened. His curse made him act in an irrational way. It could've come to death.

She placed a hand over her mouth and shook her head.

'No, Tyler would never do that…' she tried reasoning with herself.

She walked out of the dorm and shut the door with a click.

The sound reminded her of something, something important, something she had been avoiding all day.

Before she had time to take a left turn, someone had already pinned her to the wall.

'My nephew might think you're not a superhero, but I think there's something special about you after all,' Mason Lockwood gritted between his teeth.

Bonnie's first reaction was shock at being handled this way by him. She wanted to demand an explanation, but then the thing she had been avoiding all day resurfaced out of the blue. A small smirk broke her face.

She pushed him off.

'Stay away from me or I will make another hole in you. And this one will actually stick,' Bonnie told him.

Mason stared at her surprised.

'Where is this attitude coming from? One moment you're sweet and innocent and the next you're vicious and dangerous?'

'I was never sweet or innocent. It's what you chose to see.'

Mason smirked.

'You know, you remind me of someone dear to me. She would like you very much.'

'Oh,' Bonnie made a face and placed a finger on his chin 'would that girl's name start with a K by any chance?'

Mason stared at her, wide-eyed, his breath caught in his throat.

She rolled her eyes and dropped her finger.

'I should have guessed. Alright, listen, Mason and listen good. You leave Tyler alone. He doesn't need you giving him any more of your "life lessons" .'

'First you tell me to stay away from you, now I can't even be around my nephew?'

'That's right.'

'I am the only one in this damn town who isn't lying to him. I am trying to help him, unlike _other _people here.'

Bonnie rolled her eyes.

'Oh, don't give me that old speech. You're no better than anyone here.'

'I am better than your vampire friends. They kill and murder as they please, without remorse. I, on the other hand, just want peace.'

'Peace? Then do us all a favour and leave town. Then there would be peace. And I am not defending the vampires. You're both rotten. But I know them better than I know you.'

'You don't know anything,' he said angrily, staring into her eyes. But he noticed they were cloudy and unclear.

'But I'm not even talking to you, am I? I'm talking to a witch,' Mason said intently.

A loud noise erupted into Bonnie's ears. She placed a hand over her head.

Her brows were knit in a single line. She _was_ a witch. There was no one else.

'I'm going to find out who you really are,' Mason added.

With that, he left her on the hospital corridor, confused and bewildered.

* * *

The following day was Mystic Falls' Historical Society Volunteer Day and everyone was gathering on the old Fell Lockwood property for yet another town party.

As usual, Elena was there, making sure everyone was doing their job and no vampire friend was getting into trouble. Stefan and Damon were lurking around somewhere, probably on the lookout for Mason. The conversation she had had with Stefan that morning about secret code words was starting to slowly make her feel uncomfortable.

'_When I tell you, Elena, I can't do this anymore, it means I love you,' _he had told her_. _

So the entire concept wasn't bereft of romance, it was actually a heartfelt way of declaring their love for each other.

But it was still just a means of fooling Katherine. So she felt they were _using _their relationship, not really living it.

From time to time, she smiled to herself in memory of his kisses. But it quickly faded when she remembered who else had kissed him in the past.

It was not fair that the one woman standing in their way was her exact double. It was just not fair.

She felt left out, she felt meaningless. She felt common, ordinary.

There was another girl that looked exactly like her. It might seem frivolous to someone else, but she actually cared about this aspect too. There was someone who walked like her, talked like her, smiled like her, even laughed like her. And it was making her feel common.

Sure, in character they were miles away and sure you could tell who was who. But that's because Katherine was confident whereas Elena wasn't.

And she hated that. People could distinguish them because one was stronger than the other. One was more capable, one was braver. She was the other half, the weak one.

Not only did she feel ordinary, but she also felt weak. It bothered her immensely. Because she shouldn't have felt inferior. Katherine was the lying, manipulative, immoral and heartless bitch. Not her. She was kind, compassionate, sympathetic and courageous. She fought for the people she loved. She was better.

So then why did she secretly want to have what she had?

She shook her head. This was no way to think. If she was better than her, she shouldn't be thinking these thoughts. She had to distract herself. Anything would've sufficed.

She pulled out her cell phone. She couldn't call Stefan, because that would be reckless. She couldn't call Bonnie either, because Bonnie was just some tables away and it would seem silly to not just go talk to her.

Caroline, she didn't want to talk to right now because she was currently spying for Katherine.

Then she remembered she hadn't seen Jeremy around all day.

Wasn't he supposed to be here, helping?

She called him.

'Jeremy, where are you? What's that noise?' she said, hearing laughter in the background.

'Oh, Elena, I'm just at…Tyler's. We're just hanging around.'

Elena raised a brow.

'At Tyler's? You two don't usually _hang around_. What are you doing there anyway? Didn't he just get out of the hospital?'

'Come on, you make it sound so dramatic. He just had a couple of scratches. Anyway, he needed someone to talk to. You know, he's not feeling great.'

'So he's the one laughing?' Elena asked.

'Ah, no…just two girls we invited.'

'Two girls, huh? You'd better not do anything stupid.'

'Elena, I'm not a baby, you know that.'

'I didn't mean you, necessarily,' she said closing her eyes.

'If you're talking about Tyler, don't worry. I'm just trying to get closer to him so he'd give me more information.'

'Jer, please don't try that,' Elena begged him.

'Look, I know what I'm doing. I gotta go now. He's probably expecting me,' he said.

'Jer, don't provoke him,' she warned him, but he had already shut his phone.

'God, does anybody listen around here?' she almost yelled frustrated.

'Everything okay? You sound pretty tense,' a voice asked her.

She turned around. Caroline.

Sweet, well-intentioned, timid and neurotic Caroline.

She was smiling to her ears. A sad smile, it was true. A smile that said 'I want to help you'. But it was a smile that irked Elena nonetheless, because this vampire girl, this strong vampire girl was telling her that she was silly and naïve and that Katherine had her wrapped around her little finger.

A strange sort of bile rose up in her throat. She felt like shoving all her insecurities and frustrations onto Caroline.

But she was above that.

No, she wouldn't do that. She wouldn't burden her with anything. She wouldn't even flinch. She would feed her what she – well, what Katherine – wanted to hear. Because two could play this game.

* * *

Mason had just finished talking to Sheriff Forbes about Stefan and Damon Salvatore when he spotted Bonnie walking across the park, with a glass of wine in her hand. She looked like she was lost. At least, she didn't have a very clear direction.

She was moving in circles.

He wasn't the only one who was currently watching her. Damon had noticed her too. He hadn't seen her since last night when they had both put a knife through Mason's chest.

She had suddenly shown up at the party, looking upset and thoughtful. He didn't know what to do.

He didn't make a move, but Mason did.

He came up behind her.

'Wine so early in the morning?' he teased.

Bonnie kept walking, ignoring his presence.

'Are you really going to just ignore me?'

'I'll try my best.'

He chuckled.

'I actually did some research on you.'

Bonnie flinched slightly, but continued walking.

'Turns out the Bennetts have been living here for quite a while. They go back to the late 1800s actually. Your family first came here around 1860.'

Bonnie stopped and stared him in the eye.

'Why are you doing this? What do you think it will accomplish?'

'But before that, the Bennetts were residing in a small town not far away from here,' Mason continued, undeterred. 'It's not existent anymore unfortunately. Do you know why?'

Bonnie shook her head. But a sudden creeping doubt filled her thoughts. She swallowed.

'In 1863, it burnt down. It was a terrible tragedy. One of the strangest cases of arson around these parts. Because _clearly_, it was arson. There were very few survivors, if any. One of them was a Bennett. Your relative, I believe. In 1864, Emily Bennett moved to Mystic Falls. She made quite a reputation around here. Neat story, don't you think?'

Bonnie's stomach clenched. Her mind was reeling. She knew nothing about any town or any fire. She tried to keep her voice steady as not to seem surprised.

She was going to deny everything, because she had never heard of these things, but then she felt something in her snap. She asked:

'How did you find all this?'

'My sister-in-law was kind enough to share her knowledge on your family. She likes to keep track of anyone living here. You know, a woman like her needs something to occupy her time.'

'Mrs. Lockwood and the town know very little about my family. You won't find out any more,' Bonnie replied coldly, her small hands trembling behind her back.

'I'd like to know why Emily Bennett burnt down that town, though. I think that's something worth discussing,' Mason countered.

Just when Bonnie was about to reply something she would most likely regret, Damon made an unannounced appearance and interrupted their conversation.

'Bonnie, there you are,' he said, staring at Mason. 'Lovely gathering, Mason. Did you put this whole thing together? It's _very_ impressive.'

'You will have to compliment my sister-in-law,' Mason said through gritted teeth. He had already clenched his fists.

'I saw you talking to my brother before. Did you two have a nice chat?'

'Yeah…actually we talked about how much of an asshole you are,' Mason said serenely. 'We couldn't agree in the end. See, he thought you were just a spoilt brat looking for attention. I thought you were a crazy son of a bitch.'

Damon rolled his eyes and smirked.

'Listen, about last night, I hope there are no hard feelings. I was a little bit tipsy, you were out of it too, I wanted to prove I could kill a werewolf. One thing led to another…' Damon trailed off shrugging his shoulders. 'Obviously silver wasn't the way to go. But rest assured, I will eventually find something a bit more lethal.'

Mason glared from Damon to Bonnie.

'Your girlfriend here is just the kind of lethal you're looking for most likely,' he said and pushed him aside as he walked away.

Bonnie released a deep breath as she watched him leave. She unclenched her fists.

'I really don't like him,' she muttered more to herself.

'Does wolf boy know something that I don't?' Damon asked turning towards her.

'You were eavesdropping?'

'When do I _not_ do that? So…he knows about Emily. I guess he's not that slow.'

'I don't want to talk about it right now,' Bonnie said turning away.

'Wow, wow, you don't just walk away. Not after last night,' Damon argued, grabbing her arm. 'You don't get to run away.'

Bonnie frowned. She pushed his hand away.

'Last night, when you stabbed Mason with the kitchen knife?' Bonnie asked.

'No, last night when _you_ _helped_ me stab Mason.'

'I'm sorry, what?'

'Oh, okay, let me refresh your memory, you grabbed Mason by the back, I took him by the front…it was so poetic and violent. We were like animals preying on our food.'

Bonnie looked confused.

'I don't think so, Damon. You stabbed him with the knife, silver didn't work, he healed instantly. I was some feet away. I saw the whole thing happen.'

Damon frowned.

'You're telling me you don't remember anything? You don't remember what you did to him?'

Bonnie looked disconcerted.

'What _did_ I do to him?'

'Okay, this is too much. You're expecting me to believe that you turn psychotic after midnight?'

Bonnie still looked bewildered.

Damon grabbed her chin and lifted it up to look into her eyes.

'Is Emily still playing with you?'

'Cut it out, Emily's got nothing to do with this,' Bonnie said brushing him off.

'Oh, right, because that behaviour is definitely you. Not that I didn't like it. I'd actually be disappointed if that was just your freak of an ancestor. But clearly, something is off.'

'I don't have time for this,' Bonnie said, feeling slightly faint.

'What, you got something better to do than to discuss the unstable state of your mind?'

'I don't know what to believe right now,' Bonnie said massaging her forehead.

'Believe me then. Emily is probably messing with your head. She conveniently resurfaced when Katherine made an appearance. Two crazy bitches showing up at the same time...'

Bonnie suddenly remembered her dream and her second meeting with Katherine. Even if she didn't trust Damon, maybe it wasn't a bad idea to give him an inkling of her suspicions. She hadn't told anyone. She needed to talk to _someone_ about it. And she didn't want to scare Elena with more bad news from Katherine. Besides, it didn't involve anyone, but her, Emily and Katherine.

Just when she was about to tell him, she saw Damon crouching down in pain. She looked around in panic.

He was holding a glass filled with juice.

'Damon, what's wrong?' she asked, placing a hesitant hand over his back.

His eyes were in tears and he was coughing so hard that the veins at his neck were bulging out like rattle snakes.

'Ver-vain,' he managed to whisper between coughs.

'How is that possible?'

'Fucking kids...' he whispered, falling to his knees.

'Come on, sit down, I'll go get Stefan,' she told him and went to search for his brother.

When Stefan managed to find his brother, he had already somewhat recovered. He took him towards the forest, making sure no one was following them.

'Do you need some blood?' Stefan asked, worry laced in his eyes.

'Nah, I'll be fine…' he said, clearing his throat. 'But that little girl won't be.'

'No, Damon, you know this wasn't her. Someone else must've slipped it…'

'Someone called Mason you mean.'

'I don't know who else would do that...' Stefan mumbled. 'It looks like our talk served no good.'

'This is the end of the line, Stefan. We have to take him down. Not just for our sake. But for this town's too.'

Stefan sighed in a reluctant manner but nodded in agreement.

They went to find Mason, whom they believed to be responsible for the incident. They had no idea Sheriff Forbes was actually the one to blame.

As they were walking through the forest, Damon remembered something.

'Did Bonnie find you?'

'What?'

'Bonnie, did she find you?'

'No, I didn't see Bonnie all day…What do you mean?'

Damon said nothing in reply, but a curious feeling started tugging at his chest. It's as if he knew something was not entirely right.

But all his doubts disappeared when they spotted Mason alone in the forest. It was just too perfect. He was alone and they were two. It was going to be an easy fight.

But Mason looked surprised to see them.

'Oh, don't look so surprised. You knew this was inevitable,' Damon muttered. 'Go ahead. Run. I'll give you a head start.'

They had no time to figure out it was a trap. Before they knew what was going on, the Sheriff and her men came running towards them, shot them to the ground and injected them with vervain. Then they were dragged into the old Lockwood slave corridors. Mason, of course, was giving them a hand.

Damon awoke to find him and Stefan tied up and ready to be staked. At least the men around them were planning to do so. Mason was standing in a corner, watching the scene from afar, as if he was in control of everything.

The cellar, which looked more like an old cave smelt like mould and wet soil. It also smelt of fresh blood. It made Damon squirm. Iron bars circled the opening he found himself in. It looked like he was surrounded by cells.

Sheriff Forbes walked up to him, a gun in her hand. She looked disappointed.

He stared back at Liz, wide-eyed. He couldn't believe it. Not from her. He felt betrayed, he felt cheated. But then he looked into her eyes and saw she was feeling the same and he bit back the hurtful words he was going to throw at her.

'How did you fool us?' she asked, shooting him in the foot. He yelped.

'How do you walk in the sun?'

'Liz, what are you doing?' Damon asked hoarsely. He looked over to Stefan, but he hadn't woken up yet.

_Damn his diet_, Damon thought. The Sheriff shot Stefan in the chest.

'I can drag this out painfully,' Liz said, trying to hold her ground.

'But…you're my f-friend…' Damon mumbled.

'Our friendship was a lie. Answer me and I'll kill you fast,' she reiterated.

But Damon could see she was hesitating. She was pointing the gun at him, but her hand was shaking slightly. She looked sad. Reluctant. Reluctant to hurt him or Stefan. They had already formed a bond. She was trying to break it. And it hurt her too.

Mason noticed it too. He couldn't let the Sheriff's weakness get the better of her. He couldn't afford his plan to fail.

So he approached her quietly.

'Liz, you got us both wrong. We had to hide our identity from you…' Damon began, but was cut off.

'No, you didn't. But it was more convenient for you to go around town and do whatever the hell you liked while I blamed innocent people. There was a time when I considered you on _my_ side.'

'Liz, I'm still on your side!' Damon said, struggling to raise his voice. 'Mason is the one that's setting me up.'

'Sheriff, with all do respect, you don't have to bloody your hands with them,' Mason intervened politely. 'I wouldn't really want you to go through this. I can handle them.'

Liz looked at him unsure.

'Mason, you've done enough. I have to take care of it. I'm the Law in this town.'

'And I'm the Council. Let me do my job. I am a Lockwood. And this town is just as important to me as it is to you. My brother would have wanted me to do this. And I can see this is hard for you.'

'I don't know Mason, you can't do this alone…'

'I have done this before. You don't give me enough credit.'

Liz was still unsure.

'Please. I have something to sort out with Damon Salvatore anyway.'

At length Liz gave in and let Mason do the job. She didn't have the heart for it anyway.

She and her men went up to secure the entrance.

'You little piece of shit,' Damon spat out.

'Go ahead. Run. I'll give you a head start,' Mason said, repeating his words.

'When I get out of here…'

'That is '_if'_ you get out of here. And you won't. It's too bad your brother isn't awake. I won't be able to say goodbye to him.'

Damon struggled to get rid of the silver manacles but he was unsuccessful. He just had to wait a little longer for the vervain to get out of his system. He'd be stronger then.

'But before we get down to business,' Mason said, moving away from them. 'I'd like to have a small chat. Between the _three_ of us.'

He disappeared shortly from his sight and came back, holding a very angry Bonnie by her back. She was tied up and had a cloth in her mouth and one over her eyes. Her yells were muffled.

Damon froze.

He let her fall on her knees in front of Damon. He took out the cloth from her mouth but didn't untie the one from her eyes.

'Untie me!'

'No can do.'

'At least let me have my sight you jerk!' she yelled.

'What, and let you do your witch tricks on me? No thank you. If you can't see me, it's harder for you to focus your powers on me. I know a thing or two about witches. I also know water weakens them. So I soaked it in water. I think you're going to play nice now.'

Damon's anger flared up.

'Listen, you pathetic asshole, whatever this is, it's between you and me, so leave her out of this.'

'I don't think so, Damon. See, she is in cohorts with you and the others. Not to mention she tried to kill me. And she is a very powerful witch. I think I'm not the only one interested in that.'

'You'll never get anything from me,' Bonnie muttered angrily.

'Oh, I know that. Emily is making sure you don't talk,' Mason said, matter-of-factly. 'But I'm thinking your boyfriend here can clarify some things for me.'

He grabbed her by her hands and twisted them slightly.

'Listen up, Damon. Tell me all you know about this witch and I won't hurt her.'

Damon swallowed hard as he watched Bonnie squirm under his touch.

'Don't listen to him, Damon,' Bonnie yelled.

'I think you should listen, Damon. It's for her own good.'

'Fine,' Damon said, almost inaudibly.

'Did you know Emily Bennett? Have you met her personally?'

Damon nodded his head.

'I met her in 1864.'

'What was she doing in Mystic Falls?' Mason asked.

'She was a maid,' Damon said reluctantly.

'To who?'

When Damon didn't answer, Mason pulled Bonnie's hair roughly and put his hand over her neck.

'I asked you a question,' he repeated, tightening his grip on her neck. Bonnie wasn't making a sound.

'Let her go and I'll tell you,' Damon said, forcing himself to remain calm.

Suddenly, Mason cried out in pain.

He extricated his hand. It was red and black. It was scorched.

'It's burning!' he yelped, as the black spots extended to his wrists.

In a moment, Bonnie released her hands and threw away the cloth around her eyes.

Soon, his entire arm was smeared with black and red stains. He yelped in pain.

His head felt like it was going to explode. He tried touching his forehead, but the pain in his arm was preventing him.

'Katherine won't be very pleased you did that,' Bonnie suddenly said. Her voice was low and guttural.

Mason stared at her in shock.

'She'll find out you went behind her back,' she continued. 'She'll see the proof on your arms. They're going to burn up.'

She started walking towards him.

'Burn your miserable flesh until I can see your bones.'

'You w-won't do it,' Mason stuttered.

'I did it to a whole town. What makes you think I won't do it now?' she asked him, smiling.

Mason was panting in fear. So she had burnt down that town. She was literally confessing it to him!

'You…you're telling me you were responsible for that?'

'It's not like you weren't already suspecting it. It's not exactly hard to put two and two together.'

Mason swallowed, trying to buy some time. He remembered something.

'How do you know…about Katherine?' Mason asked. Katherine had never mentioned her to him. And they had known each other for a while.

Damon suddenly looked up.

_Katherine? How does Mason know about her? Has he heard anything? Unless…_

'She was my one and only mistress, wasn't she?' she answered smoothly.

'Mistress?' Mason asked.

'Well, our relationship changed over the years. You couldn't tell who was mistress of who anymore,' she said, narrowing her eyes slightly.

'Bonnie!' Damon yelled.

Bonnie turned around with a questioning look on her face.

'Emily…' Damon corrected himself.

'Hello, Damon.'

'Long time no talk…'

'Yes. Last time we did talk, you were very upset with me.'

'I still _am_.'

'Why? I did the right thing when I destroyed the necklace. I told you Katherine meant trouble. You just wouldn't listen.'

'I am not upset because of that. I know that very well now.'

'Well then?'

'Why are you doing this to Bonnie?'

'Doing what? Protecting her? Making her stronger?'

'Hurting her,' Damon answered.

'Hurting her?'

'Yeah, you tend to do that to people you "care about". It's called being selfish.'

'You ought to know,' she replied sarcastically. 'Ungrateful vampire.'

Their conversation was interrupted, however, when one of the Sheriff's men fell down the stairs. His body fell with a thump next to Mason's kneeling figure.

His neck was bitten into.

In a matter of seconds, Caroline Forbes had entered the cell and had released the brothers.

She then knocked Mason to the ground until he was unconscious.

'Bonnie! What are you doing here?'

For a second, Bonnie looked at her confused. She seemed like she didn't know her.

Caroline noticed Mason's burnt arms.

'What happened to _him_? You didn't do this, Bonnie, did you?'

Caroline shook her arms.

'You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost.'

'Oh, Car…' Bonnie said at length, exhaling a deep breath.

Caroline quickly put her hands around her to give her some support.

'It's okay…I had no idea Mason Lockwood was this insane. I mean werewolf is one thing, but total psycho? I can't believe he did this to all of you! What a total jerk!'

Elena soon climbed down too. She rushed to Damon and Stefan.

'Oh my God! Are you two okay? What happened?' she asked, concerned, kneeling to cup Stefan's cheek. He was starting to wake up, although he was dizzy and weak.

'Mason told Liz we feast on blood, go figure. It was only a matter of time. His plan was to have us killed like dogs,' Damon told her. 'Luckily, he was stupid enough to bring a witch in here.'

Elena looked at Bonnie. She and Caroline were talking some feet away.

Soon enough, Liz came down too. Only one of her men was still alive and walking. Caroline had had to put a couple of them down.

Damon was currently feeding on the dead one.

Liz turned her head to look away.

'What am I going to do with you?' Damon asked, after he wiped his mouth on his sleeve. 'You're going to rat us out.'

'Mom, you won't do that, will you?' Caroline asked her, her eyes begging her. 'Please, I mean I know you hate me right now and I know the last thing you want to do is to deal with a vampire daughter, but I still _am_ your daughter. You wouldn't do that to me, would you?'

Liz stared at her with frightened eyes. She was in a state of shock. She felt destroyed and helpless. Her only daughter, the one thing she lived for, the reason she woke up every day, was dead now. Her heart wasn't beating anymore. It would never beat again. Someone entirely new and unknown had replaced her; a beautiful creature with sharp fangs that killed at the drop of a hat.

'I'll have to kill you unless you stay quiet,' Damon told her.

'So kill me then. I can't take this anymore. Not like this,' she whispered, looking down.

'No, mom please! Don't do it Damon,' Caroline pleaded when she saw he was turning to her.

'Don't, Damon,' Elena yelped.

'Relax, you guys, no one is getting killed,' he said rolling his eyes. He looked down at Liz. 'You're my friend. I don't do that to friends.'

An awkward silence settled over the entire scene.

'We'd better get this place cleaned up,' Bonnie suddenly said, breaking the silence.

'Mom…what are you going to do?' Caroline asked fretfully.

'Yes, we're all _dying_ to know,' Damon added.

'I won't…give away your secret on two conditions,' Liz finally spoke.

'Which are?' Damon asked.

'First, I don't want you to compel me to forget everything. I know it would be easier for me not to know the truth,' she said staring at Caroline, 'but I couldn't walk away from it now. I have a responsibility to this town. I've taken vervain with me. So I'll know if you try to do that. Second, you're going to let Mason go. He has no part in this.'

'Mason? That little punk put us all in danger, not to mention he's not entirely human himself,' Damon spat out angrily. 'And you want me to spare him?'

'Where is he?' Bonnie suddenly asked.

'What?' both Stefan and Damon asked.

They looked everywhere. It was no use. Mason had escaped, somehow. He was gone.

'But he was here a minute ago!' Caroline yelped in frustration.

'That son of a bitch…' Damon whispered. 'Got away right under our noses.'

'Clearly, we weren't paying attention,' Stefan said, trying to get up.

'Not so fast, Stefan. You have to rest,' Elena told him, pressing a hand on his chest.

'Some deputy blood wouldn't hurt,' Damon said.

'No, I have to heal naturally. I can't afford to drink blood.'

'Damon's right, Stefan,' Caroline intervened. 'If there ever was a good time to break your diet, now would be it.'

'He said he doesn't want it, okay?' Elena retorted.

'But he still needs it, even if he doesn't want it,' Bonnie suddenly said. Damon stared at her with something akin to curiosity.

She shook her head. 'We'd better find Mason soon.'

'Could someone tell me already why Mason is such a threat?' Liz asked, frustrated. 'Or are you hiding this from me too?'

Stefan sighed.

'She's right. We'd better tell her. She could help us.'

'No way. She can't be involved,' Damon countered.

'Right now, _I_ have the upperhand, so you _will_ tell me,' Liz said firmly.

'Fine,' Stefan sighed. He began the story of the Lockwood family.

* * *

'Hey… I almost killed a girl today,' were the first words that Tyler uttered when he saw Mason walk through the living room door. He looked like he had been attacked.

He had bandaged his arms, but they were starting to heal. It was taking him longer than usual.

He was worn-out and upset. It wasn't a good time for him to find out such news. He looked up surprised. Tyler had just gotten out of a fight with Matt and now this? Was he always going to get into trouble? Did he always have to keep a watch on him?

'You did what?'

His nephew was the last thing he needed right now. But he was his responsibility. He couldn't let him become someone like him. Someone who harmed and threatened teenaged girls, someone who wanted to kill vampires…

'I was…being stupid. She's okay though. But there I was…you know just for a moment, for a split second, I _hoped_ she'd die,' Tyler told him.

Mason shook his head, his face showing the pain he was feeling. He winced at the word 'hope'. Because he knew all too well. During his fight with the man he had killed, he too had hoped he would die, just so he could feel it, feel for a moment that he was powerful, that he was beyond human.

But being beyond human meant being beneath one. It meant being a creature outside of life, outside of what was right or wrong.

'Look, whatever this is inside me, I don't want any part of it. I don't ever want to feel that way again. I _won't_. I can't,' he added.

Mason walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

'I know.'

Tyler noticed the bandages. He raised an eyebrow.

'Do I want to know what happened here?'

Mason smiled sadly.

'Nah, I had a wild morning.'

'Are you even going to tell me?' Tyler asked.

'It's not important. You're more important. I want you to tell me everything that happened.'

Tyler sighed.

He was reluctant at first, but then he reached into his pocket and took out the vied moonstone. It was a pale white gem, oval-shaped, that shone calmly into the light. It looked as majestic and beautiful as a soul would.

Mason took it into his palms reverently. He looked at it in awe.

'Thank you.'

'Yeah…I'm going to bed. No more talking for today, okay?' Tyler mumbled and walked away, feeling for reasons unknown to him, disappointed in his uncle.

Mason held it to his heart, smiling to himself.

* * *

Bonnie rose from her seat on the sofa. She had been staring into the fire for a whole hour. It wasn't doing her any good. No matter what she did, she couldn't bring back any memories. She had but fragments, solitary pieces that only confused her more. They came and went past her like flashes of lightning. The more she tried to think about Emily and what she had done and said, the more she realized she didn't know anything about her. Not anything that mattered in any case. And if she didn't know anything about Emily, she didn't know a lot about herself either. She had started to believe she knew herself. She had grown confident with her new identity. Now this identity was being questioned. Now, she had to go from scratch again and rebuild the base.

Because clearly there was a problem and she couldn't ignore it.

She had heard the conversation between Caroline and Elena. The two had had a heart to heart and Caroline had finally confessed that Katherine was controlling her and making her do things against her will. She had told Elena that her recently strange behaviour had all been due to her fear that Katherine would harm Matt. Elena had forgiven her, by the looks of it. She had told Caroline she was right to be afraid of Katherine.

Was she right to be afraid? Should they feel fear?

Should _she_ feel fear?

Bonnie only felt anger.

She had had her share of encounters with Katherine, but Katherine hadn't threatened her or made her do anything. She hadn't done anything directly to her. But she was messing with her mind, through Emily.

Whether she liked it or not, Katherine wasn't affecting only Stefan and Elena. She was getting to her as well. But it was different. It was entirely different, because Bonnie knew Emily had the key. Bonnie knew Emily had some information on Katherine that she hadn't yet revealed.

As she got up to pour herself a glass of water, she saw Damon walk into the room.

'Caroline's asleep in the other room. Elena's watching her,' Damon informed her.

'Oh, that's good. At least she's calm now,' Bonnie answered.

'Are _you_ okay, though?'

'Never been better,' she replied curtly.

'It's funny, cuz I can't tell with you anymore. When it's you or when it's Emily. It's daunting.'

'Have you told anyone?'

'Not yet. But I will probably be forced to. You might actually hurt someone.'

'Damon, I can have her under control, it's not the same as last time,' Bonnie lied.

'You and Emily have many things in common. One of them is that you're both terrible liars. Another one is Katherine.'

Bonnie shuddered involuntarily.

'I'm just as concerned as you are. And I won't leave matters as they are. If Katherine is involved with Emily, I'll know. I'll even face her if it will get to that. But _you_ have to tell me all you know as well.'

'All _I_ know?'

'Damon. I'm not that stupid. I may not remember everything, but I know you and Emily go way back and that you've got something against her, other than the affair with the necklace. She seemed to think you were ungrateful for some reason.'

Damon sighed and shook his head.

'Emily is almost as convoluted as Katherine. That's why those two acted together in the first place. She wasn't always this way. She wasn't always like _her_. I still think she isn't. But I'm not the one sharing minds with her,' Damon replied.

Bonnie groaned and looked at the fireplace again. The flames were still dancing softly in the dark.

'The gist of it is that I owe Emily... Back when I was still just a lousy human, she did a couple of things for me. She helped me with Katherine. I...wasn't exactly friendly with her. I treated her like a servant. And now I'm paying for it.'

His face had suddenly darkened and his eyes looked grayer than usual. The memory was making him sad.

Bonnie was about to ask him to elaborate, but he said something else.

'You know, the easy way to get rid of her would be to kill you. Like I'd planned to the night you destroyed the necklace.'

Bonnie stared at him surprised.

'It would make her go way,' he said in a low voice. 'But it would make you go away too. And while I'd enjoy that immensely, what other self-righteous witch would I rip on? There's Elena, but she's no fun sometimes, because she actually gives a crap about me. There's Caroline, but she's practically helpless and it would be unfair of me to pick on the handicapped.'

Bonnie smirked despite herself and hit his foot.

'Don't talk like that about my friends. They could kick your ass any day of the week.'

'And that's how she repays me when I try to make a compliment. So predictable.'

'Right, that's your way of paying a compliment.'

'One of the highest kind. Being mocked by a Salvatore was considered a great honour back in the day. You should ask Emily.'

'You know I still sort of despise you,' she reminded him.

'Back at you, Judgy' Damon said, smirking.  
Bonnie smiled. She was scared. But she was strong. And she had Damon's complete and total dislike. That made her feel better.

* * *

'Where were you? I've been waiting,' Katherine complained, making a face at him.

She didn't look pleased.

Mason smiled softly and took her hand in his, trying to appease her.

'I got caught up in some things.'

She extricated his hand from his.

'What happened to your hands?'

'Like I said, I got caught up in some things. One of them was fighting against some vampires.'

'You mean that stunt you pulled with Damon and Stefan Salvatore?' she asked sourly.

'Thought you'd be happy about that,' he argued.

'I told you to stay _away_ from them.'

'Why do you even _care_?'

'I don't want you to get distracted, I need you to find the moonstone,' she said.

Mason grinned proudly and raised an eyebrow.

Katherine opened her mouth in surprise.

'You got it,' she said, still doubtful.

'I got it,' he assured her, taking out the white stone.

She grinned hungrily and leaned in to kiss him, but he stopped her briefly and placed a finger on her lips.

'There's something I need to ask you.'

Katherine wasn't pleased with the interruption. She sat up.

'What is it?'

'Why didn't you tell me about the witch?'

'The witch?'

'Bonnie Bennet. She lives here for Christ's Sake, Katherine. Why didn't you tell me there was a witch here? She could help us with the curse.'

Katherine groaned internally.

_Great. The idiot found out about that. Not what I had planned, but he would've found out eventually, I suppose. _

She looked back at his arms. She could see through the bandages, all the way to his scorched skin.

_Emily must've done that to him. Did the dumbass try anything with her? He'd better not have.  
_

She started scratching his face with her nails as she spoke.

'I did know about her, but I was waiting for the right time to take control of her. I'm already making progress. She's not a very tame spirit. And witches aren't very friendly with vampires. Like I said, I didn't want to distract you.'

'You could've told me. You don't have to hide things from me,' he said kissing her hand. 'You know you can trust me.'

'I know,' Katherine replied. 'You're the only one I trust right now, Mason.'

'Good. Then tell me, who is Emily Bennett and what is your connection to her.'

Katherine narrowed her eyes and grabbed his chin.

'You really care to know?'

He nodded his head.

She grinned. 'You won't like it.'

* * *

**Let the corniness ensue! Oh and don't forget to review :D**


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